European list of certified ship recycling facilities: EC opens application procedure:

Brussels – The European Commission has opened the application procedure for the European List of ship recycling facilities last Friday, 18 December. Facilities located outside EU Member States are now invited to submit their applications before 1 July 2016. The European Commission will review the applications and then publish a first version of the European List before 31 December 2016 in accordance with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. Early in January 2016, the EC will also issue guidelines on the requirements for ship recyclers and independent verifiers certifying the yards.

“We encourage all ship recycling facilities globally that think they are ready to comply with the European requirements to submit their applications”, says Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, “the European List will for the first time provide all stakeholders – in particular the ship owners, but also the shipping industry’s business partners demanding clean logistics and sustainable shipping such as banks, pension funds and the cargo owners – with a clear reference from where to choose high-quality ship recycling facilities in line with international and European environmental and labour standards.”

Apart from holding a licence in their respective country, facilities intending to become EU-listed have to provide a certificate from an independent verifier with expertise in the ship recycling sector and have to accept additional audits if deemed necessary by the European Commission. In order to be approved, ship recycling facilities need to show that they meet both the strict requirements of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation regarding infrastructure and procedures, for instance those meant to guarantee the containment of all hazardous substances and their safe removal as well as safe conditions for the workers. Beyond the structures necessary within the yard, the approval of a facilities also depends on proper downstream waste management as well as the guarantee of all core labour rights – both broadly equivalent to European standards.

Source: recycling portal. 21 December2015

http://recyclingportal.eu/Archive/19856