"I
welcome the outcome of the trilogue on the new Ship Recycling Regulation, which
marks a major step towards more sustainable recycling of ships around the
world. The new legislation will make it possible to legally recycle EU ships
outside the OECD, but only in facilities that meet minimum environmentally
requirements. Ship owners will be able to choose such facilities from an EU
list at a reasonable price. I am convinced it will reduce the illegal practices
currently blighting the industry, which will become more responsible and environmentally
friendly as a result. It will also lead to investment in improving facilities
to meet the new demand for better standards"
Under
the present legislation, all European ships have to be recycled inside the
OECD, as they are classified as hazardous waste and therefore banned from
export under the Waste Shipment Regulation. But the ban has not worked well. It
was regularly circumvented in practice as ships are highly mobile even when
they reach the end of their commercial life, and a lack of recycling capacity
in the OECD and attractive prices for metal scrap in Asia meant that they are
simply reflagged. As a result, most European ships are dismantled in Asia in
poor facilities, causing significant environmental pollution at a high cost to
human health. The use of child labour was also regularly documented.
The
new Regulation implements the rules of the 2009 Hong Kong Convention for the
safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The Regulation aims to
improve ship recycling conditions for EU-flagged ships worldwide by prompting
the upgrade of ship recycling facilities to the standards included in the
Regulation. This is done by providing a number of requirements to be met by
ship recycling facilities which want to recycle EU-flagged ships. Facilities
meeting such requirements will be able to apply for inclusion in the European
List of ship recycling facilities, and if they are satisfactory, they will
receive a green light to recycle European vessels. In addition, ships will have
to carry on board an inventory of hazardous materials which will enable the
recycling facilities to dismantle them safely. This will advance the practical
implementation of the standards of the Hong Kong Convention in anticipation of
its entry into force.
The
Commission will look into further means to incentivise the use of higher
standard facilities, and is invited in the proposal to report on the
possibilities for a fund for this purpose.
Source: europa. 28 June 2013
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