Brodosplit reported on Monday that both the Environmental Protection Inspection and the Occupational Safety Inspection of the State Inspectorate determined that there were no obstacles to the removal of asbestos-containing bulkhead panels on Moby Dre's ship, but that work had not yet begun.
Brodosplit, they say, has taken all prescribed professional and legal protection measures - from authorized measurements to the implementation of protective protocols. "We work transparently, fully in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the prescribed regulations, and we have received official approval to carry out the work," they said.
They emphasized that all competent inspections conducted surveillance on the ship and issued official findings.
In the press release, they warned that the Environmental Protection Inspection of the State Inspectorate determined that the ship owner did not implement the procedure from the Regulation (EC) on waste shipments, which regulates the cross-border movement of hazardous waste between EU member states, and emphasized that "this is not an omission nor a legal obligation of Brodosplit" but that this procedure is the sole responsibility of the ship owner, just like any cruise ship or ship that wants to leave or dispose of part of the waste in the Republic of Croatia.
According to the same procedure, they added, it is necessary to obtain permission from the competent authorities of the sending and receiving countries, and in practice, in such cases, these approvals are issued in almost 100 percent of cases.
The waste is planned to be permanently disposed of in Germany.
"It is usual for such procedures to be conducted by the agent of the ship owner - this is not part of our contract or our responsibility, but the standard procedure of ships that intend to hand over part of the waste from the ship in Croatia", they noted and added that in this case they also have information from CIAK that "the waste is planned to be permanently disposed of in Germany".
According to this route, the same procedure includes obtaining permits from the competent authorities of Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany, which enables the legal transit and permanent disposal of properly packaged and secured asbestos at the final destination where the waste is permanently disposed of, they stated.
This, they pointed out, is not about 350 tons of waste, but about approximately 350 tons of panels containing asbestos, which is "common" for most ships built before 2001, including ships that still sail the Adriatic today. The planned overhaul will not remove all the panels, but only some of them, they added.
They also reminded that when the ship "Moby Drea" entered the port, according to all EU and Croatian laws and regulations, there were no obstacles, and the ship duly received a permit to enter and docked in Brodosplit. Our shipyard, they noted, is solely responsible for carrying out work on the ship, for which we have full approval from the Croatian Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate.
They also reported that "the work on the ship is proceeding according to plan". "The work of removing the asbestos panels has not yet started, and we will inform the public in a timely manner about all further steps, in accordance with the law and professional procedures," they said.
Brodosplit calls on the City of Split to form an independent, expert group to supervise the works
"Brodosplit is not, and will never be, a company that operates in a harmful or illegal manner. Our work is based on professionalism, compliance with regulations, and the protection of human health and the environment. We are currently completing three patrol ships and are waiting for the Ministry of Defense to continue cooperation on existing projects, as well as for the state to issue the necessary guarantees for new contracted constructions," they emphasized, recalling that, on the recommendation of the former Minister of Economy, they agreed to greater engagement in the overhaul segment, even though their core business is shipbuilding.
"We are telling citizens: we will never carry out work that would endanger human health or the environment. We have the legal right and obligation to carry out legal work, to ensure the survival of the shipyard and the jobs of our employees. Our goal is clear - to build ships and implement the projects we have contracted, and now we expect the state to fulfill its part of the obligations," they said.
They also called on the City of Split to "in the interest of complete transparency and protection of the public interest" form an independent expert group that could supervise all works and processes on the "Moby Drea" ship at any time.
Photo: HINA/Miroslav Lelas
