My name is Uday, Big Boss, of a tiny little start-up, EEC. EEC is a start up for a Holistic Paradigm - ships to green steel, with a Dare to Fail spirit.
My first ship breaking encounter was my next-door neighbor & school dropout buddy in India who became one of those gas cutters - it could have been me. He helped to smuggle me, a landlubber
as a deck boy on a huge, overcrowded pilgrim steam turbine ship, some passengers prayed let it be the last voyage in this life.
HE, the Big Heart, Gas Cutter back home tried to take of my sister I left stranded, almost Bollywood for real.
Next brief encounter of a third kind with ship breaking- many moons ago, I was a captain of a beautiful, wise, strong and proud senior ship and I had to ram the lovely old mother onto the beach in Alang, unceremoniously.
We all cried.
So, apart from this, I did this and that in shipping: Ship ownership, launched a box line, tankers, chems, finance, ipos, yards, trading. Blablabla - A to Z.
I hope to put all that jazz, dance, wink wink, voodoo, smoke and mirrors, to deploy in what's now the singular purpose: the raison d'être.
I asked many people, friends from Japan, China, Europe, Turkey to the Africa’s and the America’s one innocent question, namely this:
Just Imagine: your own efforts, desires for a positive change succeed – how would that look like?
Come on, think, dream, sing it in my ears.
EEC is just a composition of those notes, timbres and cadence, I heard from AP Møller to Zodiac, Yards, Law Firms and Banks, Cash Buyers and Steel Plants, workers to CEO’s - also those of NGO’s.
A Banker of a Poseidon Principles put it best: ”Uday, why don't steel plants buy senior ships?”
Hence: EEC.
3 years ago, I jumped in in this EOL biz in full faith EU SRR must have an incredibly transformative IMPACT across the industry.
EU SRR: Spirit of the Law? Brussels Effect: NOT Protectionism; to set higher bar to raise global standards, also to lead by example?? like have the best largest facilities in EU to emulate? Why not in Malta? Zum beispiel.
See not a single facility in EU as a result. It’s comical – if EU wants to fake capacity, at least should do that with some style. But it’s tragic that results in overcrowding in Aliaga. Impact, yes there are consequences. Accidents and deaths.
If Vietnam, South Africa, India ..., UAE.., Turkiye, Bahrain.. do, its success of Brussels Effect.
50 years ago, Lego underwater in EU, DeLego in reverse: Is it beaching? Landing? YOU name it!
I am also Dutch, we can put a dyke in Alang and use the tide to land ships like you see it was done in 1972.
The point is, we don’t care WHERE, Alang is fine too, IF we can do it better, better for ever and ever.
EU SRR : Letter of the law? euphemism landing in Aliaga Türkiye not beaching ...?? semantics..
Fat priests debate definitions. Well, how do you define Pornography, you know it when you see it.
Beach is a beach is a beach whether in Pakistan, or in India, or Aliaga Türkiye, or Valetta.
In my mother tongue we say pinch your nose, your mouth opens to breathe. Do try at home. That’s the case with Capacity and Aliaga.
Is it healthy, is it necessary to breathe through your mouth?
A "ship" becomes "no ship" in scrapping, so per definition IMO can't cover all jurisdictions inland, and so on. WTO, OECD, Basel... Waste Management.. & who enforces who not, who ratifies, who not.
Our European “high mindedness”, fear of the unknown, Regs Maze in purple haze, creates paranoia, where selling ships to us stalls because of undue paranoia of exposure of exploitation by EEC.
Result: only stupid mice get caught in the Regs Maze, smart ones re flag, sell for "further trading". Tom and Jerry, Cat and mouse goes on.
A major shipowner of high repute talking to us, re flagged from European flag a single ship.. out of his large fleet... scrapped on the beach ... in broad daylight, it was a "Canary in the Mine". Survived, so there you go, no EU SRR bogeyman, jeer members of shipowners’ associations, fearless of the EU SRR toy gun.
I was going to buy a Norwegian/European Flag ship myself, to recycle in ASRY Bahrain drydocks with way way way higher standard than any EU List yard including Green Steel dovetailed..... yes, if I did, I would go to jail.
So, if I assumed EU SRR is good (The Premise!),
I take a ship to higher than EU SRR
I go to jail. Huh?!
Therefore, reductio ad absurdum, my assumption was fallacious.
Aliaga / Türkiye became the go to place, Overcrowded Partying, standards deteriorated, malpractices increased, why? Holy OECD /EU SRR.
Türkiye itself doesn't have on par Türkiye SRR, EU Commission wrote to me long ago, yes, there is a Draft for the Türkiye/Ankara parliament to.... Another nothing burger?
That's the IMPACT. Wow!
EU White-List yards, several have the certificate, hanging like yet another shiny, locket, a medal on an Army General's chest, without ever seen a war.
EU SRR wording blocks innovation like a dyke system to use tidal beaches, al a Holland, maybe underwater cutting sailed on VLs built by underwater welding, 30 years ago built in Croatia.
"Impermeable" floor, "intertidal zone" (Neologism) and there goes a bunch of freeloaders, consultants, experts, lawyers... just trying to see: how not to say no or yes to a facility.
Virtue Signaling, look we Europeans, high minded, we EU SRR, we better. Demonizing Shipowners & their staff, Financiers - taking pot shots from safe spots.
Then there's waiting for the Torah: "Bilateral Agreement" with India: which is not even a "nothing burger".
Lawyers, freeloaders, media scoops, all those involved in those soaps, benefit, not the environment, workers...
Is there anything better EU SRR could do?
Yes, follow the money, billions of dollars are offset against corporate tonnage tax just in box trades, so create a Robin Hood fund, when you exit flag, corporations should be allowed to do so freely, by paying a small % of accrued tax savings in a Robin Hood Fund to invest in upgrading GSR, all over the world.
I can draft a two liner clause for EU Commission to tweak EU SRR. Bring it on.
Several ships will then actually maintain, nay even move more ships under EU Flags, from FOC's.
And set up a mega greenest facility right here, in Malta!
Forget Aesops, Carrots and Sticks, treating children like donkeys, do "Curling”, so that ships can gravitate more naturally to the right places, like in that ice game, use Brooms to help, steer, not use EU SRR whips and jail threats.
The IMPACT has been watching Alang yards still not on EU List for EU SRR, Bangladesh yards say it's stupid to waste time and money on EU SRR.
When you don't make toilets with Capacity and only shoot with EU SRR those who do it on the beaches, well, well....
The IMPACT has been news cycles & talk shop conferences at best.