Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling enters into force
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) entered into force globally on Thursday, June 26.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong Convention on the May 15, 2009. The aim of the convention is to reduce risks to health, safety and the environment, ensuring that ships do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or the environment when being recycled upon reaching the end of their operational lives.
The convention covers: design, construction, operation and preparation of ships to support safe and environmentally sound recycling; operation of ship recycling facilities; and appropriate enforcement mechanisms, including survey, authorisation, certification, inspection and reporting requirements.
The IMO said most ships are recycled when they are taken out of operation, with almost all materials and equipment from the ships being re-used or recycled.
The Hong Kong Convention addresses environmental, occupational health, and safety risks involved in the recycling of ships, while distributing responsibilities and obligations across relevant stakeholders including shipowners, ship building yards, ship recycling facilities, flag states, port states and recycling states.
Among other measures, the convention: prohibits or restricts the installation or use of hazardous materials on ships, such as asbestos; requires detailed inventories of hazardous materials; outlines requirements for ship recycling facility operations, including working conditions at ship recycling yards; and sets out mechanisms for certification, compliance and enforcement.
Several ship recycling nations have already been implementing the convention’s technical standards on a voluntary basis.
Currently, there are 24 parties to the convention, including major flag states such as Japan, Liberia, the Marshall Islands and Panama, as well as four major ship recycling countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Turkey.
