大象传媒

Pakistan ship breaking

Wrecking ball- breaking up ships in Pakistan

One of the most controversial debates on Teesside in recent years has centred on the fate of the so-called ghost ships.

The ships have been slowly rusting away for the last two years as Able UK battles to convince officials they can break them at the highest environmental standards.

Inside Out investigates the latest development and travels to Pakistan to discover the shameful truth about how the British Government is guilty of double standards.

Ghost ships

It's a familiar sight on Teesside - the shape of the ghost ships off the coast of Hartlepool.

The dismantling of these American warships would bring hundreds of jobs to Teesside according to Able UK who hope to break the ships up.

But critics of the scheme have serious health and safety concerns.

Shipbuilding is an integral part of North East heritage - but it has a lethal legacy.

Ship breaking in a Pakistan yard

Vessels from this era contained asbestos and they're now reaching the end of their useful lives - so what does the Government do with ships it no longer needs?

At present the yard where the ships are based is quiet as a grave.

Able UK would normally have about 200-250 people working at this dry dock and it would be full of ships being recycled.

But it remains quiet because a decision on the future of the ships is still awaited.

Scrapping ships safely?

In the meantime it seems the British Government is much less choosey about how we scrap our own ships.

Inside Out visited the the Sir Geraint, a former warship renowned for her Falklands campaigns.

She's now being torn apart on a beach in Pakistan.

The Sir Geraint was beached at Gaddani just a week before we arrived and she's already barely recognisable.

She's being cut into large pieces, dragged on shore and then dismantled further.

It's quick and basic, unregulated and dangerous.

We spoke to workers who expressed safety concerns.

One said, "I've seen lots of accidents and I've seen lots of people who've lost their lives."

Another claimed to have spent six months in hospital when he was injured.

"In Gaddani there is no safety but I am alive because of Allah," he says.

Sir Geraint is being dismantled by Bismilla Maritime Breakers.

We asked its owner whether he has a policy for dealing with hazardous materials like asbestos.

"When we find asbestos, we put it in a hole in the ground and cover it up," says Ovais Shaukat.

He claims that no asbestos has been found on this ship.

But the workers we spoke to said didn't know how to recognise asbestos.

Ship breaking in Pakistan

So why do people bring ships to be broken in Pakistan?

"The UK has an environmental problem and a Greenpeace problem with the demolition of these vessels," Ovais Shaukat.

Ship breaking - less regulation in Pakistan

He says that there is, "too much strict regulation in the UK with the breaking of this vessel and it takes too much time and we have no hard impossible regulation so we can meet the challenge of breaking this vessel."

Having spent the best part of the day at the yard we saw very little evidence of what we would describe as health and safety, other than either equipment instructions or the behaviour of the workers.

Peter Stephenson from Able UK is the man behind the scheme to dismantle the Ghost ships in Hartlepool.

We asked him what he made of these working practices abroad:

"It's sickening... it's very frightening. It's going to take years off these peoples lives."

He's convinced that the Pakistan ship could be asbestos-contaminated:

"That looks to be fibrous asbestos in a fireproof block. It's been broken and releases the fibres into the atmosphere."

So what would a Health and Safety official make of it in the UK?

"He'd have a nightmare - stop the site down immediately."

In contrast, Peter says that Able UK's work is safe:

"We've been doing this work safely for 30 years. It's no different from doing a power station or a platform from a refinery.

"We've done 60-odd marine structures from the North Sea oil and gas platforms.

"We still recover in excess of 98% of materials from them. There's no difference and there has been no problem from our neighbours or the work we've done in that time."

He finds it frustrating to see the so-called ghost ships still sitting in Teesside when he knows that other ships have been broken up in Pakistan:

"Words fail me. It's so frustrating because they're doing so wrong over there. It's detrimental to the environment and people are getting killed and injured.

"And it could all be done right here and it's good business for the area and we need the jobs and it's good for the local economy."

Best practice

So what's the Government's policy when it comes to disposing of our own ships?

It says that dismantling should be in line with what it describes as 'best practice'.

Wally Mandryk from Lloyds Maritime Intelligence Unit says:

"If a ship has hazardous material on board, and many of them do, then I think best practice would require these ships to be scrapped at facilities that are licensed, and have resources and facilities to remove the materials before they're fully scrapped."

Surely that should rule out Gaddani so how did Sir Geraint get there?

The sale of Sir Geraint was handled by a firm called Babcocks - a kind of estate agents for the Navy.

She wasn't actually sold for scrap - but as a trading vessel - and this was already raising eyebrows in shipping circles.

Wally Mandryk says:

"My great surprise was that this vessel was sold for trading in the first place.

"The ship was nearly 38 years old - in shipping terms that's an ancient vessel.

"Very few vessels, if at all, trade at that age. So it would be a reasonable assumption that the vessel wasn't meant for trading and it was destined for the scrapyard sooner or later."

Whether or not Babcocks believed Sir Geraint would be used for trade, they covered their backs by telling her new owners she contained a large amount of asbestos, and made them sign a legal contract governing her long term future.

We've managed to see that contract and it states that if the new owner of the Sir Geraint scraps her, or sells her for scrap, they must do so in line with environmental best practice and health and safety rules.

Surely that should have ruled out the yard in Pakistan?

Regency Projects

It's time for a look at who bought the Sir Geraint.

Regency Projects is a company incorporated in England for the purposes of breaking ships.

They purchase ships, take them to the Far East, and sell them to a breaker.

It's a company controlled by Mr Saleem Ali - he has a long history of this type of work.

Dismantling the Geraint in Pakistan

He had several companies before.

It's a little self contained operation at the bottom of the shipping market.

So why did the Government sell their ship to a well known third world ship breaker?

Regency Projects claim they had nothing to do with Sir Geraint's dismantling.

They say they sold her on to a third party, Malvern Shipping, and it was them who scrapped her.

Regency and Malvern coincidentally share the same office at this address in London - and Regency continued to maintain the Sir Geraint until she was scrapped.

Regency Projects didn聮t want to be interviewed 聳 but they said information about asbestos on Sir Geraint was passed on when she was sold and she was broken up by a firm with a good reputation.

So did the government fail to check up on who they sold Sir Geraint to, or did they simply turn a blind eye?

We'd like to find out - but they also refused our request for an interview.

Tightening up contracts

Surely the Ministry Of Defence can't be happy with the way Sir Geraint was scrapped.

In a statement they admitted that their contracts should be tightened up to prevent a repeat of what happened to the Sir Geraint.

What next for Teesside's ghost ships?

So it sounds like they realised they'd got it wrong.

Ahmad Saeed from the World Conservation Union believes that, "I think they have more responsibility than just selling that ship.

"When they sell this ship they should ensure that all the asbestos and hazardous materials should be taken off the ship."

Roger Symes thinks that the government was probably very happy just to get rid of the ship:

"Removing the asbestos from a ship such as this one is highly expensive and would probably cost more than the value of the ship.

"So if they could get away without doing that it would certainly be in heir best interests to do that."

Double standards?

Ironically the next generation of Navy logistics ships, Sir Geraint's replacement, are being built here at Swan Hunter's on the Tyne.

After that the company's order book is empty.

One of the hopes for keeping the yard going is in ship dismantling.

But before Swans or any other North East company can do that. they'll have meet the rigorous health and safety checks demanded to deal with the hazards of ship breaking.

But critics say these checks count for nothing when the people doing this dangerous and demanding work are out of sight thousands of miles away:

Pakistani environmentalist Ahmad Saeed says:

"There should not be any double standards. Whatever standards you follow in your country, you should follow them in the receiving country as well."

It seems that the ongoing saga of the ghost ships is set to run and run...

Links relating to this story:

The 大象传媒 is not responsible for the content of external websites

Update on the puppy dealers...

Puppy love - Inside Out uncovered the trade in puppies

Remember the upsetting story we told you about Robert Emberson and Darran Green who have been selling puppies imported from Ireland that turn out to be very sick?

• Read the original story of puppy dealers

After the programme we were inundated with people who had their own stories to tell about the two men.

We've heard that our puppy dealers aren't happy about all the new complaints.

We meet Betty Rix who bought her dog from Robert Emberson in Consett.

She thought her case was a one-off until she watched the programme:

Chris Jackson confronts Robert Emberson with claims

"I was horrified... the realisation that it was him, and the plausible way he was with us. I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely horrified."

Betty had asked Emberson for a male dog, and she called the new puppy Hamish until she took him to the vet's and found out that he was a she.

Hamish became Jeanie, a bitch. And worse was to follow - the dog was seriously ill.

It cost 拢250 to treat Jeanie for gastro-enteritis.

That's a drop in the ocean compared to what some of Green and Emberson's customers have shelled out.

Pet problems

Paul Sewell from County Durham paid 拢1,953 for an operation on the puppy he bought from Darran Green on top of the cost of the dog which was 拢295.

She had the worst case of hip displasia that the vet had ever seen.

Green offered no compensation.

We also spoke to another complainant, Jerry Hayes, who experienced similar health problems with the chocolate Labrador he bought from Emberson.

"I was very pleased when I saw your programme. I was delighted the issue was taken up in such a high profile way," he says.

Another of the owners who contacted us after the programme was Richard Allen whose pup died of the suspected Parvo virus within 12 days of being bought from Emberson.

And then there's Bailey who was bought by Kerry Laidlaw in Berwick. He's been in and out of the vets with diarrhoea for most of the past month.

Marie Scott was told by the vet that her dog Alfie was less than four-weeks-old when Emberson sold him - far too young to take from his mother.

Karen Tomlinson's pup Ollie had kennel cough - and a worthless pedigree.

It's illegal knowingly to sell a dog that is ill.

Future action?

In most of these cases it's Durham Trading Standards' responsibility to enforce the law.

We asked Durham Trading Standards if they had taken legal action against Green or Emberson?

They said no.

Sick puppy bought from Robert Emberson

We asked if they had investigated the two men or were planning to investigate them, but they would not say.

Durham Trading Standards said that the Enterprise Act prevents them from commenting on any action they may be taking against traders in their area.

Inside Out also asked others agencies what action they were taking.

Both Green and Emberson were involved in greyhound racing at Brough Park in Newcastle.

Emberson was a dog handler and Green a trainer in an industry that says it maintains the highest standards.

Since we began our investigation Brough Park have terminated their ties with both men.

Dodgy dealers

We also found that Derwentside Council's Licensing Department is looking into the activities of our dodgy dog dealers.

It's illegal to trade in dogs if you don't have a pet shop licence.

Derwentside Council is asking anyone with information to contact them.

We have also passed on our evidence to Durham Police, who say they are examining the activities of both men.

And they are also asking members of the public to contact them.

We invited Darran green and Robert Emberson to take part in our programme, but they declined.

Meanwhile, if you聮re thinking of buying a dog, it聮s worth remembering the warning in our original programme:

"The more people go out and buy these puppies from these traders, then the more money you're putting into their pockets just to start all over again." Vet.

We'll keep you posted on those investigations.

In the meantime, Hamish, Inside Out's very own dog - bought from Robert Emberson is thriving, thanks to the care of his new family.

Links relating to this story:

• 大象传媒 Inside Out - Puppy problems

The 大象传媒 is not responsible for the content of external websites

Story updates

BALTIC update - what happened next?

Our reports for Inside Out have taken us right across the North East and Cumbria.

We thought you might like to know what happened after we finished filming - so we've been catching up with a few stories and what happened next.

BALTIC

Inside Out set out to discover just what happened to a replica Tyne Bridge - which Baltic commissioned from American artist Chris Burden.

Read the original story of the BALTIC

According to the usual artistic rules of engagement, BALTIC's first director Sune Nordgren should have insisted on a special contract with Chris Burden which would have allowed the gallery to claim back the cost of making the bridge, should he sell it.

After all, Baltic reputedly paid 拢100,000 to display it for just a few weeks.

But apparently Sune Nordgren hadn't been too hot with the paperwork - according to the man who took over, Stephen Snoddy.

And while the Baltic's management disputes Mr Snoddy's recollection, it became clear that the people putting up the money had little idea what happened to the Bridge once it left Tyneside.

Inside Out racked it down to Louis Vuitton's offices in Paris where the bridge had been sold for 拢400,000.

Our report resulted in an investigation.

The National Audit Office has yet to report.

And has any money come back to Tyneside?

The BALTIC told us they are in communication with artist Chris Burden about money for the bridge.

Knives update

Late in 2005, Cleveland Police launched a weapons amnesty to counter a seventy per cent rise in knife incidents in two years.

That prompted us to find out just how easy it is for kids under 16 to get hold of knives and swords.

We exposed the people who are happy to sell lethal weapons to school children with no questions asked.

Using a secret camera, we filmed a 14-year-old boy buying a 16 inch hunting knife in a test purchase for the programme.

Cleveland Police say they're investigating the sale of the weapon and expect developments soon.

Let's hope they had better luck talking to the shop owner than we had.

Aircraft near misses

We investigated the disturbing number of near misses between military craft and civilian planes in the crowded skies over the North East.

So have things got any safer?

In the 17 months since our programme, 11 more near misses between military and commercial planes have been reported.

The most serious was in March 2005 when a Boeing 737 from Belfast was coming in to land at Newcastle, but air traffic controllers sent it into uncontrolled airspace.

Investigators concluded it was in danger of colliding with two passing harriers.

They came within seconds of each other and the airliner had to turn so sharply alarms in the cockpit went off.

The Civil Aviation Authority has now introduced a part time controlled air corridor between Newcastle and Aberdeen, and the military is gradually adding collision warning systems to its planes.

But some civilian and military flights continue to fly over North East England with no air traffic control.

Baby Lara

Cumbria Police have "categorically ruled out" Anne Chadwick as the mother of baby Lara.

Phil and Anne Chadwick were arrested on suspicion of murdering the baby which was found entombed in a concrete block in West Cumbria.

New DNA tests by police revealed Anne is likely to be Lara's sister.

The baby was buried last autumn.

Voodoo refugee

Inside Out's reports have also taken us further afield - in fact on one memorable assignment to Benin in West Africa.

We went to test the claims made by one asylum seeker in Sunderland who told us she was fleeing a voodoo curse.

Voodoo is one of the main religions in Benin, but it also has a dark side.

Reine Dohami, who is 17, says fled to England in fear of her life to escape being forced into a voodoo cult.

But the Home Office has rejected Reine's case, and when she is 18, Reine will be returned home.