INTERTANKO AMONG THOSE REPRESENTED IN BEIJING SHIP RECYCLING WORKSHOP:

INTERTANKO participated in a ship recycling workshop in Beijing this week, organised jointly by the IMO and the Chinese National Ship Recycling Association (CNSA). The purpose of IMO’s “National Workshop on the early implementation of the technical standards of the Hong Kong Convention in China” was to bring together representatives from the European Commission (EC) with flag states, China (as the recycling state), the Chinese ship recycling industry (CNSA and its members) and the international shipowners’ associations.

One of the key reasons for holding the workshop was based on the renewed efforts by the European Union (EU) to introduce governance to the field of ship recycling in the interim period – i.e. between the adoption and final entry into force of the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling (HKC).

As advised in Weekly News 14, the European Commission on 23 March 2012 adopted the “Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and Council on ship recycling”. As part of the European decision-making process, the proposed Regulation will have to be negotiated between the Directorate General of Environment of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of Europe over the coming months before it can be finalised, published, and then enter into force.

The proposed Regulation is based on the technical standards of the HKC. Therefore, when the Convention enters into force, it will be easy to replace the European Regulation with the HKC. The Chinese ship recycling industry is seen as being vitally important for the initiative of the EC on the proposed Regulation, as at present these facilities are closest to meeting the standards within the HKC and hence the EU-proposed regulation. The Commission is therefore keen to ensure that facilities actually exist to allow European ship owners to recycle their vessels according to the relevant safety and environmental standards.

From the Chinese perspective, the initiative of the EC is seen as increasingly important to the commercial success of the Chinese ship recycling industry.

The workshop was followed by two days of site visits to ship recycling facilities in China, for which INTERTANKO’s Senior Manager – Environment, Tim Wilkins, joined the delegation, including Yinhu, Zhongxin, Shuanhshui and Changjiang Recycling Yards.

Source: INTERTANKO. 1 June 2012

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