Green Ship Recycling Contract in final stage:

Work on a new standard “green” recycling contract is near to completion. The aim of the new contract is to provide a specialised agreement for owners and recycling yards who share the same common objective of wanting ships recycled in an environmentally safe and socially responsible manner.

The contract, code named RECYCLECON, is intended to provide commercial parties with a contractual platform that reflects the principles of the Hong Kong Convention on the recycling of ships. Although the Convention is not yet in force, there are a number of shipowners who are already seeking recycling yards with “green” credentials where their ships can be dismantled in an environmentally safe manner.

The RECYCLECON contract voluntarily incorporates many of the requirements of the Convention such as the Inventory of Hazardous Materials and the Ship Recycling Plan. It will provide a useful stepping stone towards Convention requirements in the interim period before the Convention comes into force.

The team of industry experts assigned the task of developing this contract met recently in London where Convention related matters were discussed in detail, such as a requirement to have a ship recycling plan and a ship recycling facility plan in place and setting out a preliminary process for the issue of a statement of completion to the owner once the recycling process has been completed.

Some of the future challenges for RECYCLECON are -

• the interaction between local laws, EU legislation and international conventions, such as the Basel Convention;
• the lack of infrastructure in place to deal with green recycling; and
• the fact that shipowners’ “green” intentions are sometimes misunderstood by state governments and authorities.

It is hoped that a final draft of RECYCLECON will be ready in June for the Documentary Committee to consider at their meeting in Vancouver.

Contact: documentary@bimco.org

Source : BIMCO. Date: 02.03.11

https://www.bimco.org/en/Members/News/2011/2011/03/02_Green_Recycling_Contract.aspx