Environmental, worker safety concerns raised over alleged oil spill at Gujarat shipbreaking yard

NGO Shipbreaking Platform has raised environmental and worker safety concerns over an alleged oil spill at Priya Blue's shipbreaking yard in Gujarat's Alang-Sosiya, claiming the pollution spread well beyond the facility and questioning the environmental and safety standards at one of India's best-known ship recycling yards.

In a statement released last week, the global coalition, which campaigns against the environmental and human rights impacts of current shipbreaking practices, alleged that workers tasked with cleaning up the spill were deployed without adequate protective clothing or equipment and were seen standing barefoot in heavy fuel oil.

The organisation also cited satellite imagery dated 14 June, which it said showed the oil spreading well beyond Priya Blue's shipbreaking plot, suggesting that the spill could not be contained because of tidal flows associated with the beaching method used for dismantling ships.

According to the NGO, the spill occurred on 13 June after an "extremely high tide wave" destabilised the LNG vessel SOHAR, which had been beached at the yard only a few days earlier. It alleged that the vessel subsequently collided with a floating crane barge, damaging its forward fuel tank and releasing large quantities of heavy fuel oil into the sea.

Beaching is the practice of deliberately running obsolete or decommissioned ships aground on tidal mudflats before dismantling them.

NGO disputes company's account

The NGO said Priya Blue published an incident investigation and environmental response report on 26 June stating that remediation had begun immediately, trained personnel equipped with full personal protective equipment (PPE) had been mobilised and containment measures had been deployed close to the source of pollution.

However, it alleged that video footage obtained by the organisation contradicted those claims.

"Priya Blue did not disclose the full picture in its own report – they omitted reporting on grave occupational and safety breaches and instead claimed that trained personnel wearing full PPE had been mobilised. This raises serious questions about not only the accuracy and transparency of the company's account of the incident, but also its HSE credentials," said Ingvild Jenssen, executive director and founder of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

The organisation also cited local media reports and testimonies from affected communities, alleging that oil washed ashore along a large stretch of coastline, including near the fishing village of Mithi Virdi, around 10 kilometres from the shipbreaking yard.

It further alleged that TV9 Gujarati reported that more than 30 hours after the spill, authorities, including the Gujarat Maritime Board and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, had yet to initiate action. According to the NGO, Gujarat Samachar reported that pollution control authorities collected liquid and sediment samples only three days after the spill.

Jenssen claimed witnesses were reluctant to speak publicly about the incident because of fear and expressed frustration over repeated pollution incidents and accidents at shipbreaking yards in Alang-Sosiya.

Questions over certification, beaching method

The NGO said Priya Blue, which has operated in Alang for four decades, is among the first Indian shipbreaking yards to receive certification from Indian authorities as compliant with the International Maritime Organization's Hong Kong Convention. It also noted that the company has sought inclusion on the European Union's list of approved ship recycling facilities and has been showcased internationally as an example of improved ship recycling practices.

According to the organisation, the incident casts doubt on claims that beaching yards can meet international environmental and worker safety standards.

The NGO also questioned why the SOHAR allegedly still carried around 1,800 tonnes of fuel before being dismantled. It said it had sought details from Priya Blue on the circumstances surrounding the spill, including the reported quantity of oil released, the recovery process and disposal of contaminated waste, but had not received a response.

The platform said the vessel had been sold for scrapping by Japanese shipping company MOL and Oman's Asyad Shipping. It also noted that vessels owned by NYK and offshore drilling contractor Transocean were present at the yard when the incident occurred.

Call for transparent investigation

The NGO has urged the Gujarat Maritime Board and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board to conduct a transparent investigation, publish environmental sampling results and disclose both the volume of oil released and the full extent of contamination.

It has also called on the European Commission to consider the incident while assessing applications from beaching yards seeking approval under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, on shipowners to stop sending vessels to beaching yards, and on the International Maritime Organization to prohibit the beaching method under the Hong Kong Convention.

"A Hong Kong Convention certificate is not proof that a yard is preventing harm across the full chain of dismantling and disposal. Not a single yard in Alang-Sosiya would be allowed to clone its activities on a beach in the EU. That's why the beaching method must never be rubberstamped by theEU," Jenssen said.

Note: Priya Blue's response to the NGO's latest allegations was not publically available at the time of the publishing of this report.