# Blue Lady breaks the rules



## raybnz (Sep 10, 2005)

I found this article in Loyds List Monday 24th September 2007 and it makes for interesting reading. I wonder just how close the Indian Ship Dismantlers will abide to the new regulations.

Blue Lady breaks the rules for Indian shipbreaking
Shirish Nadkarni
Monday 24 September 2007
NOT for the first time in the last two years, the controversial Norwegian cruiseship Blue Lady has grabbed the news, and now India’s top court has delivered a decision with significant market ramifications.
The 46,000 dwt cruiseship was sold last year to Alang for scrapping and since then has remained at the centre of a political storm over shipbreaking and the environment.
India’s Supreme Court allowed the vessel to be beached on the Gujarat shore, but withheld permission to break it until a specially appointed committee had determined it was safe from toxic wastes.
Permission has finally been granted for the Blue Lady’s demolition, although the latest news is that the order will bechallenged by environmental organisations.
However, the court also layed down a set of rules that are designed to make shipbreaking a far safer process in India than ever before. 
The bare bones of these regulations are:
1. The shipowner must provide a complete inventory of hazardous waste on board of ship. No breaking permission will be granted without such an inventory.
2. The shipowner should properly decontaminate the ship prior to its breaking.
3. Contaminated ships can be barred from beaching and “sent back” to their origins.
4. Upon arrival, ships will be boarded by three to four different government agencies in order to verify the accuracy of the data provided on paper.
Reaction to the proposed ruling from India’s most powerful judicial body has been mixed from across the shipping industry, with fears that the new stipulations will have a serious dampening effect on already restrained prices.
Moreover, some brokers are also warning that the measures could be the death knell for India’s breakers, with intense competition across the region for a sparse supply of contracts as buoyant markets keep older tonnage fromretirement.
“If this ruling goes ahead then price levels will be sorely affected; and, in a market where Indian breakers are already struggling to compete with Bangladesh, this is very bad news for the local breakers,” remarked London-headquartered shipbrokers EA Gibson.
Although US-based cash buyers GMS welcomed the move in terms of bringing the industry in India on a regulatory par with the rest of the world, it also noted that new legal requirements could have a major impact on the number of old vessels heading to India.
“A new era has dawned for the ship recycling industry in the Indian subcontinent. 
“With last week’s order of the Supreme Court, India’s ship recycling activities have made the leap from third world to contemporary standards,” said GMS. “This is the good news.”
However, the stateside shipbreaking broker added that the the bad news is that several owners will be caught unexpectedly with their “pants down”. 
“The new regulations have strategic and consequential implications,” said GMS. 
“As a result, coming to India without appreciating the ramifications of this order can send the delivery process into a tail-spin.”
The runaway demolition prices offered by Bangladesh last week also took a tumble.
After the sale of the tanker Riza at a record-breaking price of $590 per ldt last week, the market sagged in the wake of lower steel scrap prices. 
For example, the Primorsk-controlled, Finland-built tanker Gornopravdinsk (17,725 dwt, 7,377 ldt, 1976-built) achieved a lower rate of $580 per ldt.
Bangladesh also bagged the two Pemex-owned, Netherlands-constructed tankers Reforma (21,704 dwt, 6,313 ldt, 1974-built) and Revolucion (21,702 dwt, 6,313 ldt, 1975-built) at $240 and $283 per ldt on an “as is Mexico region” basis. 
The lower rates were due mainly to the fact that the vessels were laid up for a very long time. 
Even lower, although undisclosed, is the rate believed to be paid by Turkish buyers for the ancient 1,024 dwt, 225 ldt, 1966-built general cargo vessel Cargo Trust 1, built in Turkey and one of the few vessels that escaped buyers from the Indian sub-continent.
For the foreseeable future, the supply of demolition tonnage remains sparse, with no meaningful tonnage in the market. 
The only few vessels that are being discussed are fishing trawlers, reefers, ferries and small tankers. 
The onset of the holy month of Ramadan also means that fewer deals will be struck as breakers take a break.


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## Paul UK (Jun 13, 2005)

Looks like the final curtain now they have started to remove all fittings and have cut a load of holes along her side for winch chains and all this after snipping of her bow.

All this without final court approval 

paul


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## Santos (Mar 16, 2005)

Some very sad pics at :-

http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnewspics.html

Chris.


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## Jeff Taylor (Oct 13, 2006)

It will be interesting to see what implications this may have on the "Oceanic", ex-Independence, which has been sold to a dummy corporation by NCL and which is now said to be scheduled to depart for India and scrapping within the week. After all the commotion stirred up by "Blue Lady", it's hard to believe that the Norwegian/Star interests think they can sneak another one through!


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## Lksimcoe (Oct 30, 2006)

Jeff:

I agree with you, but by the time anyone complains, she;ll be already beached, and once they're beached, refloating them is nigh impossible.

Even scarier is given NCL's history on these liners, what they'll do the the SSUS. According to what I've read, since they purchased her a few years ago, they have done nothing to stop the rust from spreading, and she is approaching the point where nothing will be able to be done.

But the SSUS is on the US Historic Register, so any attempt to sneak her out will cause quite a flap. Unfortunately, the Independance doesn't have the same protection.


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## Paul UK (Jun 13, 2005)

She has been on the beach nearly a year now so she is not going anywere, whatever the court or the world says SSUS look out>

Paul


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