Old ships dismantled for scrap pose a major environmental hazard to EU waters, it was claimed today.
The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, said large vessels had a very high scrap value for wrecking yards but concealed hidden risks like asbestos contamination.
He told the Environment Oireachtas Committee that what he called “waste ships” were often dismantled in an unsafe manner.
“Some very large vessels have a very high scrap value,” he said.
“These vessels are being towed into some countries and beached there without any great supervision and they're being dismantled.
“Some of the older vessels have all of the worst problems built into them, including asbestos.
“There is quite clearly an environmental hazard but there is also a (health) hazard for the dismantlers,” he added.
Committee member Arthur Morgan of Sinn Fein said there were very poor facilities within the state for dismantling vessels, which was often done in a “haphazard” way.
The cost of towing them to wrecking yards abroad was often prohibitive, he added.
He called for the Government to provide incentives for firms to set up indigenous dismantling operations here.
He explained that a small freight boat in his own constituency had caused difficulties recently.
“A significant number of vessels had been earmarked for dismantling in recent months,” he said.
“One in my own constituency presented serious problems and incurred a huge cost to the local authority to deal with issues arising from it.”
Mr Roche said Ireland was lucky because its merchant fleet was small and modern.
He said many vessels were imported and “it's not entirely inappropriate” that they should be returned for dismantling and scrapping.
The International Maritime Organisation had ultimate responsibility for supervising the dismantling of vessels for scrap.
PA