Ship-breakers ahoy: clean up time

But if profit has driven that callousness8212;industrial safety and cleanliness being expensive propositions8212;it may well force some positive change too. For an industry governed by the dynamics of global commerce, it was imperative the catalysts had to come from outside the country not within.

Some developments of the last few months may well pave the way for that change8212;provided the government backs it up with some action of its own. The International Maritime Organisation for the first time in its 50 years put ship-breaking on the agenda of its April meeting. And the International Labour Organisation, at a recent meeting in Bangkok, recommended a safety protocol for ship-breaking. But more than that, it is the European Union8217;s plan to consider a bill banning members from sending ships for breaking to countries that don8217;t adhere to strict safety and environment standards that may prove the most effective lever.

Already ship-breakers are talking about the bill, which is to be taken up next year. They know they could well lose business to China, where operations are highly mechanised and carried out on huge plots 8212; unlike the 183 tiny plots at Alang, where most labourers work with no more protection than helmets.

Business has grown phenomenally since 1982, when just five ships were broken here. In 2002, 333 ships were brought here for dismantling. After 21 years, the industry now employs about 40,000 workers and provides indirect employment to another 1 lakh people. Despite such growth, the industry has ignored or bypassed what little and what loose government control there is. A host of authorities 8212; from the Gujarat Maritime Board and Gujarat Pollution Control Board to the offices of the senior inspector of factories and labour commissioner 8212; are meant to regulate ship-breaking. But it is all too irregular. For instance, the explosives officer comes to inspect work all the way from Vadodara, more than 300 km away. Even a basic document, certifying that the ship has been stripped of all hazardous materials, is often issued without physical verification.

When accidents take place, these authorities more often than not pass the buck. The worst accidents involve explosions caused by the ignition of fuel vapour trapped in closed spaces when workers use flame cutters. This year alone three major accidents took place, killing over 20. When this happens, the unions aren8217;t strong enough to take on employers and fight for safety measures. The fact that most of the labourers are migrants doesn8217;t help.

Besides this, every ship beached at Alang claims its price in terms of environmental damage and poisoned lives. Yet the ships continue to beach at Alang 8212; for that matter on all Asian shores8212; violating the Basel treaty, which bans transboundary movement of hazardous waste and calls for highly regulated disposal that proves expensive.

The frequent accidents and the bad press the yard has got have, however, brought some measures for worker safety. Helmets are now worn8212;but industrial boots, gloves, goggles and gas masks are treated as cumbersome deterrents by both workers and employers. A training institute has also been set up, where supervisors are given lessons in safety. However, not many are enthusiastic about attending them. The maritime board claims that it makes audio-visual presentations on safety, but this is not backed by many ship-breakers.

Then there infrastructure and social problems. Fire-brigade and rescue teams find access to the plots difficult. All around town, migrant workers live in squalor. AIDS and venereal diseases are rampant. Health facilities are non-existent: most often, accident victims are treated at private hospitals. This, when the industry pays hundreds of crores in taxes and duties.

Now, with the fear of an imminent regime demanding uniform conditions in ship-breaking yards everywhere in the world shaking ship-breakers out of their reluctance to change for the better, the government should see an opportunity to clean up a notoriously unsafe industry that has gone unregulated for too long.