After the French ship Clemenceau, Malaysian cruise liner S S Norway is now on the radar of Greenpeace who are opposing its entry into India for being dismantled on the shores of Gujarat.
On Tuesday, Greenpeace accused the government of being "callous" in dealing with such issues.
The environment watchdog claimed that the cruiser, popularly known as 'Blue Lady', one of the top 50 toxic ships in the world, has left the Malaysian coast on Friday last and is expected to reach Alang in Gujarat by May 23.
"The ship carries 900 tonnes of asbestos and also many other types of globally-banned toxic materials and a cancer causing chemical known as polychlorinate biphenyis," Ramapati Kumar, Greenpeace campaigner, told a press conference in New Delhi.
He claimed that the ship which belonged to Malaysian Star Cruises Ltd, has been purchased by a private shipping company in Alang at cost of $17 million (approx. Rs 76 crore).
The French president had recalled Clemenceau, while it was on its way to India in February 2005, following the controversy over its alleged high levels of toxicity.
Alleging that the government had not yet formed any policy on environmentally-safe ship-breaking, Kumar said, "There are a lot of initiatives being taken by various countries the world over on safe shipbreaking. However, the Indian government is yet to wake up to the issue."
He said Bangladesh has already refused to allow the ship into its waters for dismantling.
"When Bangladesh did not allow dismantling of S S Norway, why is the Indian government allowing it to come here," the Greenpeace campaigner said.
Caption: The ship S S Norway is considered one of the 50 most toxic ships in the world.
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
