By Sabina Zawadzki and Robert-Jan Bartunek

COPENHAGEN/BRUSSELS, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Maersk Line stated on Friday it had chosen 4 shipbreaking yards alongside India’s Alang seashores to deal with a rise in vessels that should be scrapped, to the dismay of some organisations that say the operations there are polluting and unsafe.

The world’s largest container shipper says the 4 yards within the Alang coast of western India have been licensed based on the Hong Kong Convention — well being, security and environmental requirements developed by the International Maritime Organisation.

It stated it would see a spike within the variety of vessels it might want to scrap within the coming 5 years and that utilizing different amenities in Turkey and China will value it $150 million extra.

Maersk argues that as over 70 p.c of all international vessels are scrapped at yards alongside the coasts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, “where serious challenges exist to improve current negative environmental and social conditions”, it’s higher to work with these few that meet worldwide requirements.

“These yards have chosen to invest so it’s really important that we and other shipowners support them. If we don’t, I’m pretty sure these yards would lose motivation to go for these standards,” stated Maersk‘s head of sustainability Annette Stube.

She stated the primary vessel ought to arrive inside months and Maersk would work with the yards to enhance their requirements.

Critics nonetheless say it might be troublesome to make these beach-based locations, the place large vessels are taken aside by usually poor migrant employees with out the assistance of correct tools, protected and environmentally clear.

NGO Shipbreaking Platform says their seaside location could cause poisonous paint from vessels to circulation into the ocean and an absence of cranes implies that when ships are spliced, massive components can crash to the bottom, doubtlessly hurting employees or sending extra particles into the waters.

“For the last eight years they (Maersk) have been working with some of the most advanced ship recycling facilities in the world in China but now they’re completely turning their backs on them,” stated Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

“They don’t even hide it – it’s purely for financial reasons. They’re scrapping their company values for more profit.”

Maersk stated the licensed yards have concrete flooring and drainage programs that enable waste liquids to be disposed of away from the ocean and that ship components will likely be cleaned, with paint scraped off, earlier than they’re reduce off and fall into the water.

(Editing by David Evans)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.