New convention aims to ensure safe and environmentally sound ship recycling

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 08:57

A new international Convention on ship recycling has been adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or to the environment.

The new Convention was developed by IMO, the United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution from ships, and was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Hong Kong, taking place 11–15 May 2009 and attended by delegates from 63 countries. The text of the Convention has been developed over the past three years, with input from IMO Member States and relevant non-governmental organizations.

Speaking at the close of the successful conference, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos expressed satisfaction with the new Convention. He told delegates that the new Convention struck the right balance between the responsibilities and obligations of relevant parties, and added that it also allows for future improvements. The Convention, he said, “has succeeded in putting in place international rules and standards to regulate, for the first time, a complex and multi-faceted issue.”

The new Convention intends to address all the issues concerning ship recycling, including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons and ozone-depleting substances. It will address concerns about the working and environmental conditions at many of the world's ship recycling locations.

Regulations in the new Convention cover the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships so as to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, the operation of ship recycling facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner (ship recycling yards will be required to provide a "Ship Recycling Plan"), and the establishment of an appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling.

Source: IMO