Action against Asbestos ship Otapan l in Amsterdam

Greenpeace ships, like the Argus, convoy the asbestos ship Otapan at the North Sea Canal to her old mooring place in the Amsterdam harbour. The rusty tanker returns from her journey to Turkey, where she should be scrapped. The banner on the ship reads "Van Geel: nu schoon schip maken", which translates to English as "Van Geel: clear things now".

In original language:

Toxicactie Otapan in Noordzeekanaal in Amsterdam

Greenpeace schepen, waaronder de Argus, begeleiden het asbestschip de Otapan in het Noordzeekanaal naar haar oude ligplaats in de haven van Amsterdam. De roestende tanker keert terug van haar reis naar Turkije, waar zij gesloopt zou worden. Op het spandoek van het schip staat "Van Geel: nu schoon schip maken".

Unique identifier: GP01LXV

Type: Image

Shoot date: 16/10/2006

Locations: Amsterdam, Europe, West Europe, Netherlands

Credit line: © Greenpeace / Ronald de Hommel

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Action against Asbestos ship Otapan l in Amsterdam

Greenpeace ships convoy the asbestos ship Otapan at the North Sea Canal to her old mooring place in the Amsterdam harbour. The rusty tanker returns from her journey to Turkey, where she should be scrapped. Turkey however refused after the anouncement that the Minister of VROM (Housing, Regional Development and the Environment) in The Hague had delivered a fault export permit. The license was for example for the export of 1,000 kilos asbestos, while there will be at least net 54,000 kilos in the ship. VROM knew this already in 2002 from its own reports. Greenpeace urges State Secretary Van Geel to 'clear things up' in the dirty documents of the Otapan. The Global Platform on Shipbreaking and Greenpeace agree on the return of the Otapan. 'Ships send for scrap full of dangerous waste are the problem of the ship owners', states Greenpeace director Liesbeth van Tongeren. 'Our principle is that the polluter must pay. If the owner cannot be caught, the Netherlands cannot export such an environmental problem to less prosperous countries'. Greenpeace wants that ships send for scrap will be broken up in a decent way according to international agreements and without endangering the safety of man and environment.

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