Platinum II, which is awaiting beaching permission for Alang for over a month now, has been mired in another fresh controversy, this time over producing fake registry documents of the Republic of Kiribati. This was apparently done to get away with the dismantling of the toxic-laden US ship in India, keeping authorities of both countries in the dark.

In a written communiqué to environmental activists, the official registry of Kiribati has said that the paper filed with Indian authorities is fake.

The Indian Platform for Ship Breaking (IPSB), which had opposed beaching permission to Platinum II and had brought the issue to the notice of Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh, had said the ship has a US registry, which bans exports of PCB contained vessels for disposal to other countries.

An email from Lia Siew Leng, Operation Manager, Kiribati Registry, said: “The Ministry of Communications, Transport & Tourism Development, Government of Kiribati, has confirmed that the attached Platinum II certificate is definitely a fake. Perhaps, the Indian authorities can contact us to investigate this matter.”

The Report of the Central Technical Team constituted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests on the inspection of Platinum II, said: “The ship does not have any national flag though the US flag was found painted on the chimney. The ship is of 1951 make and its original name was SS Independence. It was registered in the US. The name has undergone changes thereafter and its present name is Platinum II as registered in the Republic of Kiribati in September 2009 in the name of M/s Platinum Investment Services Corporation at 80, Broad Street, Monrovia, Liberia.”

... contd.