The ‘Le Clemenceau’ Controversy

In the early morning hours of January 12, 2006, two Greenpeace activists boarded Le Clemenceau, when it was stationed 50 nautical miles off the Egyptian coast and hung a banner ‘Asbestos carrier stay out of India.’ The warship had been stopped by the Egyptian authorities at the Suez Canal, on its way to India, as the Egyptian government suspected the ship to contain toxic materials.

However, French authorities had obtained permission from the Egyptian government to pass through the Suez Canal by presenting relevant documents that proved the ship did not contain any toxic materials. One of the main concerns of environmentalists was that the ship was not cleaned of all its asbestos and other toxic materials as claimed by the French authorities.

The French Government had estimated around 45 tons of asbestos to be on board and further agreed to take back any hazardous waste that came out during the dismantling process. The French Government further denied the possibility of any presence of PCB in Le Clemenceau.

However, Greenpeace claimed that Le Clemenceau contained approximately 760 tons of asbestos, of which only 115 tons of asbestos was cleaned in France and the ship still contained more than 500 tons of toxic asbestos. Greenpeace also claimed that the ship contained approximately 800 tons of PCB.

If Greenpeace was correct then it would mean that the French authorities involved in Le Clemenceau deal had misrepresented facts to both the Egyptian and Indian Governments and also breached various international conventions that governed issues of movement of hazardous waste like the Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, and Stockholm Convention.

The Supreme Court of India set up a monitoring committee termed as the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee (SCMC) to cross verify all facts pertaining to the sale of Le Clemenceau and the presence of asbestos and other toxic material aboard the ship. The SCMC was also responsible for checking whether Le Clemenceau complied with regulations in India pertaining to hazardous waste.

On February 13, 2006, the Supreme Court directed the Ministry of Defense to suggest names of experts, experienced in ship breaking, so as to set up a five member panel that could come up with opinions on the issue of the entry of Le Clemenceau in India.

The matter was further adjourned till February 17, 2006. The Supreme Court also ordered against any demonstrations for or against the entry of Le Clemenceau. However, within a couple of days, the French had recalled back ‘Le Clemenceau’.

contd....

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