Even as the anchoring of the US ship, Platinum II, at Alang has kicked up a row, the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on ship-breaking nominated by the Supreme Court has asked the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to take appropriate action against the ship and not allow it to be broken down until all queries are solved.
Platinum-II, suspected to be carrying toxic substances, arrived at Alang anchorage on October 7, without prior permission from the authorities concerned. On Wednesday, a top official of IMC talked to GMB chairman on telephone and asked him for clarification on 'Platinum-II'. The IMC said that until and unless all departments concerned cleared the vessel, it must not allowed to touch the ground of ship-breaking plot.
"And if the controversial ship is permitted to beach, get ready to answer all questions that will be raised in Parliament,'' the IMC reportedly told GMB. Meanwhile, Gopal Krishnan of the Indian Platform on Ship-breaking (IPoS), who had earlier written to the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) informing it about Platinum-II, wrote a letter to US consulate-general in Mumbai and US Embassy in New Delhi, saying that the ship was carrying toxic substances and must be sent back to the US.
"The ship’s entry is illegal, name of the ship has again been changed and the new name has not been made public. A dummy company has been created and registered in Liberia and an MoU has been signed between this dummy company and Haryana Ship Breaking Ltd.
US authorities can ascertain from the Indian Customs and all the port authorities should verify whether the port of registry is genuine. It is a case of fabrication of documents to bypass the USEPA order wherein it was never mentioned that the ship is being sent to a dummy company,'' he said in the letter.
