26 October 2017

First Bangladeshi ship recycling yard gains international certification

First Bangladeshi ship recycling yard gains international certification

International Maritime Organisation Secretary General Kitack Lim lauded the PHP yard as a role model for others in the country

PHP Family Ship Recycling Yard in Chittagong has received a Statement of Compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, from international classification society Registro Italiano Navale (RINA).

The yard is the first to achieve Hong Kong Convention compliance certification in Bangladesh, according to a report published by the Maritime Executive on Monday.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Kitack Lim, during his visit earlier this year, lauded the yard as a role model for others in the country.

GMS, one of the major cash buyers in this sector, lauded the achievement as an important development towards a more sustainable ship recycling industry, further raising the bar in the standards for this sector in Bangladesh.

“PHP Family yard has worked hard to improve their safety and environmental standards by following successfully the Hong Kong Convention guidelines, which are enabling the whole ship recycling industry to achieve sustainable goals for ship recycling,” Dr Anil Sharma, President and CEO of GMS said in a statement.

The Hong Kong Convention, adopted in 2009, includes regulations for shipowners, recycling facilities, flag states and recycling states to ensure that end-of-life ships do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and the environment when being recycled.

The European Union adopted the EU Ship Recycling Regulation in 2013.
The European Commission published its first edition of the EU list in 2016. The next edition of the list, expected to include yards outside Europe, is expected to be published by the end of 2017.

In the neighbouring country India, 41 yards have received Statements of Compliance with the Hong Kong Convention (seven from ClassNK, 30 from RINA and four from IRQS), as of August, 2017.

Source: Dhaka tribune. 24 October 2017

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