GMS: November Green Team Activities

November turned out to be an exciting and productive month for the GMS Green Team! We are excited to announce a collaborative effort between our Green Team and the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT) for the sponsoring of a research project on Green Recycling Technologies. GMS has volunteered to a one year sponsorship agreement with the institute in order to help its students focus on the development of an environmentally friendly and safe paint scraping/removal technology, prior to the commencement of the ship recycling process.

This collaboration is a part of GMS’s ongoing research conducted by our in-house R&D department based in Bhavnagar, Alang, under the supervision of Dr. Anand Hiremath, out Lead Coordinator for Responsible Ship Recycling at GMS. The aim of the new project is to develop and create innovative and cost-effective solutions / technological advancements in green recycling that will benefit the overall industry and the environment for an increasingly sustainable recycling future. Dr. Anand Hiremath had also the opportunity to conduct the first aid training programme at plot no. 128, the Guruashish ship breakers Pvt. ltd., and plot no. 94, Akhil ship breakers Pvt. ltd., at Alang under our GMS RSRP. Moreover, our R&D dpt. completed 8 IHM surveys during this month which is the highest number of surveys conducted so far within the period of one month.

Additionally, Dr. Nikos Mikelis, (GMS’s Non-executive Director), was invited to address IndustriALL Global Union’s ShipbuildingShipbreaking Action Group Meeting that was held aboard the hotel-ship “SS Rotterdam”, in the Netherlands. The meeting was attended by 57 delegates from 17 countries. IndustriALL represents 50 million workers from 140 countries in the mining, energy and various manufacturing sectors. Its Shipbuilding and Shipbreaking Sector campaigns against precarious working conditions and the lack of training and it demands that workers should have a right to expect a safe, healthy, and working environment. IndustriALL has been campaigning for an early entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention.

In his presentation, Dr. Mikelis discussed the dynamics of the industry, illustrated the improvements made by the industry over the last three years (especially in India), following voluntary implementations of the standards of the Hong Kong Convention. Dr. Mikelis also highlighted how improvements have started taking place also in Bangladesh and stressed that commercial and regulatory stakeholders need to recognize and support these improvements for the betterment of the industry. Moreover, he discussed the practical steps needed to ensure the entry into force of the Convention and explained the critical role of the European Regulation on Ship Recycling and the importance of the upcoming publication of the European List by the European Commission. Dr. Mikelis concluded his remarks by expressing serious concerns over the interpretation that the Commission may adopt on the issue of beaching. The discussion also covered the recent initiative (known as RSRS) by a number of European banks in support of the European Regulation.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 30 November 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/gms-november-green-team-activities/