The Onyx has disappeared. She cannot be found for the moment on AIS (Automatic Identification System). Her last known position dates back to 14th February off the Portuguese harbour Setubal. She has not called in Gibraltar for bunkering as said by the owner and the French authorities.

Another European runaway is the Margaret Hill, a LNG carrier built in 1974 and owned by V Ships UK. The ship was retained in Southampton by the British Environment Agency to prevent her demolition in Asia and the export of toxic wastes to non OECD countries. As a matter of fact, the Margaret Hill is now in Jebel Ali, Dubai, and according to informations from India she is expected to proceed towards Alang after having been sold to Argo Systems cash buyer. Refering to another LNG carrier, the French Descartes sold in the past for demolition in Bangladesh, it can be assessed the Margaret Hill contains at least 1.500 tons of asbestos.

Left: Disabled Onyx, off Brittany (France), December 2009. Photo Abeille Bourbon
Right: Margaret Hill , Southampton, April 2009. Photo John White

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February 10th 2010

Hunting down the Onyx (2)

In a letter addressed to Robin des Bois on February 3rd 2010, the Squadron Vice Admiral, Head of the Maritime Authority in the French Atlantic, subjected the departure of the old car ferry Onyx to weather permitting conditions in order to guarantee the safety of the crew members aboard. It appears as though the weather cleared up at around 10:00 am, the time when the Onyx departed. The letter also mentions that the decision to stop the detention of the Onyx would be taken “under the condition that she was taken to a port for repair”. Brest was therefore only the port of handiworks and fast repair.

Robin des bois is asking the Maritime Authority in the French Atlantic to publicly announce the port intended for the repair works.

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February 4th 2010.

Hunting down the Onyx (1)

The Onyx is a car ferry which has 30 years of service in Scandinavia under her belt. She was considered as waste by Finland’s Environmental Authority, but as any waste is considered recoverable according to the doctrine of sustainable development she was bought by an Indian ship owner, Prayati Shipping PVT. This company initially claimed that the ex-Casino Express will be used to transport cars in the Middle East and in a second statement that she will undergo transformations in Turkey with the intention of keeping her in service.

The profile of this ship owner is shady. It is one of a locator of old hulls for demolishers. Their unique vessel is a bulk carrier built in 1976. The average age of bulk carriers sent to be scrapped is 31 years. This particular vessel the Rose S has not been in service since July 2009. On the same date, Prayati Shipping PVT based in Bombay, bought an old tanker renamed the President which was sold three months later to a Bangladeshi demolition shipyard (see shipbreaking.com #17.pdf p.8.) Their very last purchase was the Onyx which just after leaving Finland on her way to Asia suffered from an engine breakdown, the Onyx is currently in transit in Brest.

After saving her from sinking thanks to the intervention of the salvage ocean-going tug Abeille Bourbon, France is ready to let the Onyx go and send her at the perils of the sea with more than twenty sailors aboard. Finland after mumbling a few apologies has kept silent.

Robin des Bois’s position is the following: The Onyx should be permanently immobilized and with Finland’s contribution, her country of origin, she should be demolished in a shipyard in the near vicinity which is to say on the European Atlantic façade.

On January 22nd Robin des Bois wrote to a number of political leaders. Not even The Secretariat of State for Transport who has full responsibility on this subject has answered Robin des Bois’s request.

If the Onyx leaves in the near future from Brest towards the South, Robin des Bois will call its Turkish and Indian contacts, countries where demolition of this sort usually takes place, to insist on her former qualification as a waste by a European country, on the presence of asbestos and of other hazardous materials aboard. There is some hope even though it is slight that the Onyx be refused entry by these countries. France and Finland would then bare the responsibility of this ousted wreck of which the international community would want to be sent back to Europe.
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January 13th 2010

No to traffic from North to South of rotting car ferries.

After the fraudulent sale by a Finish shipowner of the old car ferry Onyx, which is still immobilised in Brest today following an engine breakdown and its rescue by the Abeille Bourbon it is now the roll of the Pentalina B sold by an English shipowner to Cape Verde. The Pentalina B was built in 1970 and was scheduled to operate in Cape Verde as a passenger and cargo ship. Fortunately a water leakage in the engine-room off the coast of Finistère in Brittany halted its southward journey. For the time being the ship is avoiding the fate of the Joola in Senegal (2,000 deads in September 2002). The Pentalina B was also towed by the Abeille Bourbon. Car ferries sold by developed countries to Third World countries are responsible for thousands of deadly casualties.

Within the framework of “Grenelle de la Mer” and following a proposition by Robin des Bois a commitment was taken on ceasing the sale of old European passenger ships outside of Europe. These end of life vessels riddled with asbestos and other pollutants with battered hulls must be demolished in Europe. Re-selling them to continue operating is a crime.

Robin des Bois is asking the Ministry of Ecology and the General Secretary of Marine Affairs to take responsibility and implement measures in this vital area.

Robin des Bois is asking that the Onyx on the one hand and the Pentalina B on the other hand be towed back to their country of origin to the countries expense. Brest should not become a transit port for potentially dangerous vessels. Nor should it become a repair platform which ultimately exposes workers to sanitary risks, if these floating wrecks are demolished in Asia. Passengers are also exposed to the risk of shipwrecks again if these same floating wrecks continue to operate in third world countries.

 

 

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