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Environment organisations call to repatriate scrap ferry

Environment organisations have called on the French government to repatriate the two retired SeaFrance ferries "Western Light" and "Eastern Light" which they claim were illegally exported to India for demolition. Brussels-based NGO Shipbreaking Platform and France’s Robin des Bois said the former "SeaFrance Cezanne" and the former "SeaFrance Renoir" were exported from Dunkirk on 7 October and 20 September respectively, without having been fully decontaminated. In a letter to the French environment minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet and European Union environment commissioner, Janez Potocnik, the groups said the French Government has failed to respect the Basel Convention on the movement and disposal of hazardous waste. The letter calls on French authorities to urgently contact their Indian counterparts and prevent the demolitions proceeding. The NGOs argued the two ro-ros were effectively owned by the French state via SeaFrance’s owner, SNCF, and ferries should be taken an OECD member country for demolition. The environment groups said there was a precedent for repatriating ships destined for demolition, as five years ago the French authorities brought French aircraft carrier "Clemenceau" back from India.