French President Jacques Chirac ordered the return of the defunct aircraft carrier, 'Clemenceau', after France's highest court ordered the carrier not to enter Indian shores as concerns were raised by environmental campaigners over the amount of asbestos it was carrying.
Several environmental groups including the Greenpeace had contended that it was carrying 10 times more asbestos on board than the French officials had declared.
Mr. Chirac's announcement comes on the eve of his visit to India. Besides environmental groups, French President - who portrayed himself as a champion of environmental issues - was also under pressure from the opposition party members and press in France who accused him of dumping toxic waste in the third-world.
Mr. Chirac's office issued a statement that the president had ordered the ship's return to France “offering all security guarantees until a definitive solution for its dismantling has been found.”
This is Clemenceau's second failed mission since it was decommissioned in 1997. Earlier, Clemenceau retreated from Turkey when a Spanish company broke off a contract to dismantle it in 2003.
Greenpeace welcoming the decision said it was “satisfied” with the ruling of the court. They said it had to brave many “obstacles to truth and transparency” strewn in its path.
The 26,000 ton vessel was marooned in the Indian Ocean for weeks as the Indian Supreme Court was mulling whether to allow it to proceed to towards Alang shipwrecking yard in the India's western state of Gujarat.
The director of Greenpeace France, Pascal Husting, said: “This is a victory for international law, a victory for Indian workers, and a victory for workers all across Asia.”
Mr. Chirac has asked for another investigation at home to find out as to how much asbestos was still remaining on the vessel. He also exhorted other nations in Europe for helping in setting international standards for disposal of waste on such ships overseas. He stated that they should include “respect for labor laws, workers' health, and the environment.”
However, Girish Luthra, chairman of Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure, the company which was given the contract to remove the toxic materials form Clemenceau, said: 'It's a big blow for the industry. This particular ship could have given 300 to 400 workers jobs. Overall I am sure this would have given work to 5,000 to 10,000 people.”
