"GOD SAVE THE QUEEN FROM TBT": GREENPEACE PROTESTS AGAINST TOXIC PAINT ON "QUEEN ELIZABETH II"

13 November 1999

BREMERHAVEN -- More than 30 activists from the environmental organisation Greenpeace are protesting today against the use of toxic anti-fouling paint on the "Queen Elizabeth II" by spraying "God save the Queen from TBT" on the ship's hull as the ship entered the harbour of Bremerhaven. In ten inflatable boats bearing bright yellow flags and banners reading "Stop TBT", the activists joined with the 290-metre ocean-going liner in the North Sea at the mouth of the Weser. The 'QE2', flagship of the American owned Cunard Line, is to be towed to the Lloyd dockyard, where the bottom is to be patched with anti-fouling paint, containing TBT (tributyl tin).

"Cunard Liners are leaving a trail of TBT through the seas! What would the passengers say if they knew? It's high time that the operators of the QE2 started using non-toxic anti-fouling paint," says Greenpeace-expert Manfred Krautter. "The persistent pollutant TBT is absolutely superfluous. Non-toxic marine coatings, such as silicone-based paint, have been around for a long time and have proved their worth on cruise ships. Before the QE2 docks, Cunard should take a stand against TBT and make a voluntary commitment not to use paint containing TBT on its ships. Other cruise lines, such as HAPAG, already use only TBT-free paint."

TBT (tributyltin) is one of the most powerful environmental pollutants. It is believed to disrupt the human hormonal system and even in micro-concentrations to damage aquatic life, such as mussels, sea snails and fish larvae. TBT is found in all of the world's seas. Its toxicity accumulates as it moves up the food chain, so that today fish, mussels, whales and seals contain high levels of it.

The use of marine paint containing TBT is condemned everywhere in the world. The UN's international maritime organisation, IMO, will hold a conference next week in London to discuss a worldwide ban on TBT starting in 2003. International ship owners, the chemical industry and several countries with large merchant fleets sailing under their flags are the chief opponents of a ban.

Harbour sludge at the Lloyd dockyard, where the "QE2" is to be repaired, is already polluted with heavy concentrations of TBT. In August, in this harbour, the Greenpeace laboratory ship Beluga recorded peaks of more than 48,000 micrograms of TBT per kilogram of sludge. The toxic substance damages small aquatic organisms at concentrations as low as 0.05 micrograms per kilo. At 100 micrograms per kilo and over, the sludge is classified as hazardous waste by the northern German states and must be disposed of on land. The Lloyd shipyard has announced renovation measures that will enable its waste water to be collected and treated in future.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Manfred Krautter, +49 171 8780 818, press officer Svenja Koch, +49 171 8780 828, Peter Pueschel +49 171 8780 830

Further information from www.greenpeace.org