Ship recycling issues discussed during MEPC 64:

IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee from 1 to 5 of October, 2012

Discussions at the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 64) this week include the following items of particular interest on ship recycling.

This week saw the completion and adoption of two sets of Guidelines on the implementation of the Hong Kong Convention.

The Guidelines for the inspection of ships under the Hong Kong Convention provide port state control inspectors with guidance on inspection of ships which covers the inspection of the International Certificate on Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) as well as Part 1 of the IHM itself. They also provide guidance to PSC inspectors on determining when a detailed inspection may occur and what would provide clear grounds for such an inspection.

The Guidelines for the survey and certification of ships under the Hong Kong Convention were also adopted this week.

An additional important development this week was the agreement to develop threshold values for potentially hazardous materials in the IHM. A Correspondence Group will be established to undertake this work which is vital when developing the IHM as it will assist in determining the level of detail of the IHM, thereby making them concise and practicable for users.

The Hong Kong Convention was completed and adopted in 2009. As yet, no countries have ratified this Convention.

Source: Safety4Sea. 5 October 2012

http://www.safety4sea.com/page/13486/3/ship-recycling-issues-discussed-during-mepc-64-

MEPC 63 OUTCOME:

On the sixty-third session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 63) that took place from 27 February 2012 to 2 March 2012 the following have been discussed/decided.

MARPOL Annexes I, II, IV, V, and VI amendments have been adopted, aiming to enable Small Islands Developing States to comply with requirements regarding reception facilities for ship waste through regional arrangements. The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 August 2013.

The NOx Technical Code has been amended to permit separate certification of the diesel engine and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) System (technology able to comply with Tier III requirements). The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 August 2013.

Ballast Water Management Convention: three basic approvals and six final approvals were granted to Ballast Water Management Systems using active substances. Currently, the number of systems given final approval by the IMO has increase to twenty-six. Regarding the Ballast Water Management Convention it should be noted that currently 35 countries, representing 27.95% of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage have ratified the Convention. The Ballast Water Management Convention will enter into force 12 months after ratification by 30 states, representing thirty-five percent (35%) of the aggregate global merchant shipping tonnage.

IACS and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), submitted a document raising questions about the feasibility of some of the Ballast Water Management Convention requirements, countermeasures have also been discussed. A number of countries have supported the establishment of a framework which would enable the issuance of certificates even before the Convention enters into force.

It was confirmed that Ballast Management Plans approved in accordance with resolutions A.868(20) are also valid.

Regarding e ballast water management technology Japan provided documents on the current installation status of ballast water management systems and proposed that an appropriate review should be conducted based on the understanding that the ballast water management systems are not smoothly installed. As a result, it was agreed to put forward the collection and analysis of the data collected from Member States based on the Japanese proposal.

Regarding Ship Recycling Convention details of guidelines for ship recycling facilities have been examined. Four draft guidelines have been discussed:

1.   “Guidelines for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling”. The guidelines have been adopted

2.   “Guidelines for the authorization of ship recycling facilities”. The guidelines have been adopted

3.   “Guidelines for survey and certification”: Ongoing. To be discussed by the correspondence group and submitted to MEPC 64

4.   “Guidelines for PSC”: Ongoing. To be discussed by the correspondence group and submitted to MEPC 64

IMO is working on Market Based Measures (MBM), such as the introduction of special bunker levies and emissions trading schemes to supplement the technical and operational measures for achieving the GHG emission reductions required by the amended MARPOL Annex VI. In order to narrow down the number of Market Based Measures proposed by member states, the Chairman of the MEPC suggested to carry out assessments of the impact of such measures on developing countries with respect to the implementation of these measures.

Source: officer of the watch. 26 July 2012

http://officerofthewatch.com/2012/07/26/mepc-63-outcome/#more-1281

IMO workshop on ship recycling:

The workshop took palce from 30 May to 2 June 2012.

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 of a number of European flag states, the European Commission, and representatives from China as a forward looking ship recycling state, the Chinese ship recycling industry (China National Shiprecycling Association and its members), international shipowners’ associations (BIMCO, ICS and INTERTANKO), and large European national shipowners’ associations (Germany, Greece and Norway).

BIMCO had been invited to present its new standard contract on ship recycling, code named RECYCLECON. The presentation can be seen via the below link.

RECYCLECON is a contract, targeting the market of green recycling. It has been developed to accommodate the sector of the market made up of owners and recycling yards that are committed to embracing safety and environmental considerations when recycling ships. One of BIMCO’s key objectives is the harmonisation of international trade practices.

RECYCLECON is seen as a means of bringing commercial harmony to the process of the "green" recycling of ships, consistent with the objectives of the IMO Convention.

The aim of the workshop was to create the necessary understanding and communication channels leading to the establishment of a workable and effective regime of safety and pollution prevention standards that should be based on the technical requirements of the Hong Kong Convention in the interim period.

On 23 March 2012, the European Commission 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 European Council over the coming months before it can be finalized, published, and enter into force. The new regulation is important to ship owners of European flagged ships as it legitimizes the practice that ships may be recycled in facilities outside the OECD.

BIMCO is pleased that the proposed Regulation is based on the technical standards of the Hong Kong Convention. This is a prerogative for a global regulation of ship recycling. In its presentation BIMCO did, however, address some of its concerns with regard to the European proposed regulation, where in certain places it goes beyond the Hong Kong Convention. Some of the concerns are of a commercial nature that place extra competitive burden and liabilities on European ship owners in comparison with other flags.

Representatives from the Chinese ship recycling industry presented the plan for ship recycling in China, underlining its reputation for being safe and green. Ship recycling yards in China have made a tremendous effort to improve the environmental parts of recycling, ensuring waste treatment and containment of hazardous materials. It was clear that they were on the right track to be able to live up to the conditions in the Hong Kong Convention.

The two day workshop was followed by visits to Yinhu Yard, Zongxzin Yard, Shuangshui Yard and Changjiang Yard.

This was a very important and timely workshop, where BIMCO had the possibility to express its views on the obstacles that will have to be levelled out for implementing the proposed European Regulation, which at the end of the day will be a big stepping stone to the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention. Furthermore, there is no doubt that China today is heading in the right direction and is at the forefront of performing green recycling.

Source: vietfracht 4 June 2012

http://www.vietfracht.com.vn/News_Detail.asp?ID=2585

Shipbreaking: The European Union surrenders

The European Union continues to show interest for the conditions of shipbreaking. After the ‘’Green Paper on Better Ship Dismantling’’ from the European Commission in 2007, the European Parliament resolution on “the European strategy for better ship dismantling” in 2009 and a series of meetings between all parties interested about the end of a ship’s life, the Commission just proposed new regulation on ship demolition, to be discussed at the next Parliament and European Council meetings. In the first place, meetings will be about “requiring member-States to ratify the Hong Kong convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships”. Signed in 2009, the convention has not at this time been ratified by any of the IMO members and will be archaic when it goes into effect.

During this long wait, the transitional european regulation must secure the interim. The European Union put their ambition on hold. Yesterday it envisioned the anticipated application of the Hong Kong convention or even an enlargement of its constraints; today, it is just about to designate the dismantling sites fulfilling the convention requirements and take into account the measures of demolition preparation such as the inventory of hazardous materials and the recycling plan. Even though the actual European regulation forbids a minima, but without success, export to a non-OCDE country, the opportunity to dismantle in a distant facility provided that it be included in the European list is considered a satisfying issue to the penury of European sites…But is it the penury of sites in Europe that oblige European ship owners to export, or the exportation that holds back the emergence of such an industry in Europe?

Only the ships flying the flag of a member-State of the European Union are concerned by the regulation. The notion once put before the Commission of ‘’Ships with strong links to Europe’’ has been whisked away. The carrying out of this regulation showed itself useless. Close to 40% of ships that left to be demolished belonged to a European ship owner, but only 13% sail under European colors. A dissuasive measure is targeted at shipowners who send their ships to sites not agreed upon. Article 23 of the regulation project previews sanctions of which the amount is not defined : ‘Where a ship is sold and, within less than 6 months after the selling, is sent for recycling in a facility which is not included in the European list, the penalties shall be:

a) jointly imposed to the last and penultimate owner if the ship is still flying the flag of an European Member State;

b) only imposed to the penultimate owner if a ship is not flying anymore the flag of an European Member State.’’

This tortuous article 23 applied to the world’s oceans will be easily bypassed by dropping anchor for more than 6 months in a remote bay, by sales to ephemeral ghost companies, and transfers under specialized flags like Tuvalu, Mongolia, Comoros, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Togo, Moldavia…

Source: Robin Des Bois. 7 May 2012

http://www.robindesbois.org/english/shipbreaking/shipbreaking27.pdf

Ships won't be able to ‘de-flag' before dismantling:

Commission insists new rules will prevent de-flagging before shipbreaking.

The European Commission has said that new rules proposed today (23 March) for tighter restrictions on how and where EU shipowners can dismantle their vessels will combat the practice of ‘de'flagging' – which owners are using to avoid current rules.

Under the current waste-shipment regulation, EU-flagged ships cannot be exported for dismantling. But owners avoid this rule by switching ships' flags to a non-EU country before it is decommissioned. The new regulation would take ships out of the waste-shipment regulation and create new rules.

The new rules would make EU shipowners responsible for ensuring their ships are dismantled safely and environmentally soundly within 6 months after selling them or de-flagging them. If not, they could be fined by the Commission. The Commission will draw up a list of facilities considered ‘sustainable' under the proposal. A Commission official said that it would not be economically beneficial for shipowners to wait any longer than six months before dismantling.

“This proposal aims to ensure that our old ships are recycled in a way that respects the health of workers as well as the environment,” said Janez Potočnik, the European commissioner for the environment. “It is a clear signal to invest urgently in upgrading recycling facilities.”

Pollution and health fears:

Currently, an estimated 80% of out-of-service ships are beached in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for dismantling. When done improperly, ship recycling harms workers and pollutes the environment. The new rules largely implement global standards agreed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2009 in the Hong Kong Convention.

No country has yet ratified the convention, and there is no deadline for implementation, though the rules are expected to be in place within eight to ten years. The Commission wants to oblige member states to ratify the convention now. For EU carriers, owners of 40% of the world's ships, the rules would take effect in 2014.

Source: European Voice. By Dave Keating. 23 March 2012

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2012/march/ships-won-t-be-able-to-de-flag-before-dismantling/73972.aspx

IMO Policy of Dumping Hazardous Ships on Alang Beach & European Double speak

To

Shri G K Vasan

Union Minister of Shipping

Government of Inda

New Delhi

Subject-IMO Policy of Dumping Hazardous Ships on Alang Beach & European Double speak

Sir,

This is to draw your attention towards the anti-environment and anti-labour stance of the recently concluded 4th TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum that was held in Singapore during 12-13 March 2012, the Steel Scrap Summit held on February 9, 2012 in Gurgaon, IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), 63rd session held during February 27 – March 2, 2012 and the views of Shri Julio Garcia Burgues,Head of the Waste Management Unit. European Commission – DG Environment revealed in the letter of Shri Rajgopal Sharma, Advisor, Indian Embassy, Brussels dated December 20, 2011. It is revealed in the letter that most of the 200 dead and hazardous ships that are currently at Alang beach are in illegal traffic.

I submit that a letter dated December 22, 2011 sent by your ministry annexed Shri Sharma’s letter. He has sent a report on his conversation with Shri Burgues in the matter of shipbreaking in India. The letter to the fact that 17 % of the international merchant fleet is flying EU flags and when after 25 years they become obsolete, most of them are transferred to Indian waters because of weak shipping, occupational and environmental health and regulations.

This letter reveals that “The EC (European Commission) is of the view that at present, most of the trade for recycling (dismantling) is illegal considering the provision of Regulation No. 1013/2006.” This regulation refers to EU Waste Shipment regulation. Although International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s Ship Recycling Convention drafted and adopted in Hongkong at the behest of ship owning companies and developed countries is unlikely to be ratified by India due to resistance from industry groups and environmental groups, Shri Sharma’s letter shows that “the EC proposes to have a new regulatory regime based on key requirements of IMO Hongkong of 2009 on ship recycling (dismantling)”.

I submit that this conversation appears to be linked to the negotiations underway for India-EU Free Trade agreements.

I submit that NGOs and trade unions from Europe and US do not represent the migrant workers at Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat and the environmental health concerns related to ongoing pollution of the beach and other ports. The Northern civil society groups have co-opted the Southern civil society space by paying lip service with ulterior motives in furtherance of the cause of their funders.

I submit that on December 20, 2011, Shri Burgues informed Shri Sharma in Brussels that all the dead ships which come to India and other shipbreaking states are illegal under European Commission’s EU Waste Shipment Regulation, 2006 and in order to legitimize the same, EC has plans to start the process of diluting and amending its Regulation from April 2012 onwards. This insincerity and double speak of EC reveals that EC is under tremendous influence of ship owning companies so much so that it has chosen not defend its own Regulation. It plans to downgrade its Regulation to make it compliant with yet to be born Hong Kong Convention. The fact is that the Convention is unlikely to take birth because shipbreakers and environmental groups in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are bitterly opposed to it.

I submit that EC under the influence of companies feels that it is one of the ways to support its contracting economy and prolonged recession besides secretly signing free trade agreements with developing countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

It appears that economic crisis in Europe has turned environmental NGOs there to become nationalists and compelled them pay lip service to environmental and occupational health concerns in South Asia. IMO and its masters, the ship owners must be quite glad at the turn of the events.

I submit that the hollowness of proposed Guidelines for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling se guidelines, along with the Guidelines for the development of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials and the Guidelines for the development of the Ship Recycling Plan can be gauged from the fact that they are voluntary improvements meant to meet the requirements of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, which was adopted in May 2009 amidst opposition from labour, environmental and industry groups from South Asia.

I submit that Dr Nikos Mikelis, Head of the Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling Section of IMO’s statement, it was “neither logical nor ethical to stop sending ships to South Asia” has been made at the behest of European and Japanese ship owners demonstrating complete disregard to the fragile coastal environment of Alang beach, which has been heavily contaminated and it is crying for remediation.

I submit that the steps being envisaged by DG Environment’s Office of the European Commission for a new EU Regulation in place of EU Waste Shipment Regulation currently being finalised in Brussels is diluting the latter to fine-tune European law with the regressive Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships that allows ship owners and shipbreakers to pollute the South Asian beaches of Alang, Chittangong and Gadani in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In India, progressive steps like the ones taken in the matter of Sachana shipbreaking plots in Jamnagar district, Gujarat by its closure as per the order of Gujarat government merits attention.

“The shipbreaking is termed illegal because this breaking activity is going on in the water of Marine National Park. Unless and until, Government of India gives permission, such activity cannot be carried out in the Marine National Park area because Marine National park Jamnagar is a important sanctuary where marine life of excellent quality live,” states the order dated 22-11-2011 from the Office of Chief Forest Conservator “to cancel the plots allotted of Sachana shipbreaking yard. These plots are in the land of Forest/Marine Sanctuary”.

The order concludes, “GMB has never taken the official permission for the shipbreaking activity. Whatever activity is carried out by GMB is the violation of the rules of Marine National Park. So this activity must be stopped until the permission is granted. GMB must be careful regarding this. If they continue this activity, it will be violation of the rules and the authorities of GMB will be personally responsible for this violation. GMB has never taken the official permission for the ship-breaking activity. Whatever activity is carried out by GMB is the violation of the rules of Marine National Park. So this activity must be stopped until the permission is granted. GMB must be careful regarding this. If they continue this activity, it will be violation of the rules and the authorities of GMB will be personally responsible for this violation.”

The order reads, “Because of shipbreaking, harmful objects like arsenic, mercury, asbestos, oil, etc could harm marine life in the long time. This leads to complex problems for protecting and conserving the Marine National Park and Marine sanctuary.”These observations are quite relevant for the shipbreaking operations on Alang beach, Bhavnagar as well. IMO’s MEPC is meant to protect marine environment but its Hong Kong Convention is supporting status quo of ongoing pollution on South Asian beaches even as European beaches are fiercely protected. It is a classic case of double standard.

I have learnt that  Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture is examining this matter.

In view of the above, I submit that IMO’s Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships that was adopted in May 2009 is unsafe, unsustainable. Government of India must realize that it is the child of ship owning companies of Europe and Japan and desist from signing or ratifying it.

I will be happy to share relevant papers in this regard.

Thanking You,

Yours Faithfully

Gopal Krishna

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)

New Delhi

Phone: +91-11-2651781, Fax: +91-11-26517814

Mb: 9818089660

Cc

• Union Minister of Environment & Forests
• Union Minister of Steel
• Union Minister of External Affairs
• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry
• Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture

Source: Bargad. 15 March 2012

http://bargad.org/2012/03/15/imo-policy-of-dumping-hazardous-ships-on-alang-beach/

'Faliure' of shipping to deal with asbestos examined:

According to the front page lead in TradeWinds today, scores of ships built in the past 10 years containing substantial amounts of banned asbestos have triggered claims of lax enforcement of rules and the erroneous issuing of safety certificates.

In the article Henning Gramann, MD of GSR Services draws attention to the fact that 'asbestos free' declarations from shipyards are 'useless if they have not fully controlled the incoming materials' or the supply chain.

The report claims 'It is now acknowledged that a large-scale problem persists and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has now submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) focusing on a "unified interpretation" of the regulations, seeking to clarify especially where responsibility lies.'

Responding to the problem, an industry workshop has been set up in Singapore to offer clarity and help ship owners, builders and recyclers deal with asbestos safely and legally. Organised in the wings of the TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum, the workshop will focus on how ship owners and operators should deal with the risks posed by asbestos on board. 

The workshop will offer practical assistance to ship owners in the areas of asbestos surveys on Chinese newbuildings, cleaning up the supply chain, potential consequences of noncompliant reporting, creating a chain of liability, selecting the most appropriate certifiers.

Attendees will learn about the reliability of inventories and upstream supply information (including repairs and regular maintenance), issues arising from Certification of people giving inventory services, costs, risks and relevance of inventories and hazards and how to avoid operational risks and liability in jurisdictions such as Australia and the Netherlands.

The workshop is taking place at the Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore on March 12th.  The event will be moderated by Henning Gramann, MD of GSR with presentations given by Gerhard Aulbert, Global Head of Practice Ship Recycling, Germanischer Lloyd, Dr Alexander Berg, Junichi Hirata, Project Manager of ClassNK and Robin Townsend, Lead Specialist at Lloyd's Register. The event is sponsored by Lucion Marine.

 

NHST Events global reach extends to the most traditional and the most dynamic shipping centres of the world, with events now running in Shanghai, Singapore, Copenhagen, Athens,Oslo, Istanbul and Bermuda.

Our mission is simply to deliver exceptional value for time for our speakers, delegates and sponsors through a combination of informative presentations and lively social functions.

NHST Events AS is part of the Norwegian news organisation NHST Media Group with operational headquarters in London.

Source: NHST Events. 10 February 2012

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/nhst-events/pressrelease/view/faliure-of-shipping-to-deal-with-asbestos-examined-731337

Are Class Societies to blame for asbestos exposure?

Tradewinds have recently reported that scores of ships built in the last 10 years containing substantial amounts of banned asbestos have triggered claims that classification societies have failed to police the industry.

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to clarify exactly where responsibility lies in the regulations on asbestos. In July 2002 the IMO banned under Solas the installation of asbestos on new buildings and existing ships. A total ban was then brought in on 1st January 2011.

However, this has been criticised. Henning Gramann, former ship recycling boss at Germanischer Lloyd argues that class societies have for many years  wrongly issued Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) certificates for ships containing asbestos. He further states that classification societies have been laz in accepting asbestos-free certificates or statements from shipyards for equipment installations without checking their accuracy. The IACS paper is to go before the IMO this week during a meeting of the sub-committee on ship design and equipment.

It is clear that regulation on asbestos in maritime vessels needs to be ratified in order to highlight the duty holder. The impending Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships 2009 would go a long way to clarifying this, as it would require all vessels above 500 GT to hold an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM). The hazardous materials listed in this inventory have been compiled by the IMO and include asbestos. Many ship owners are already issuing IHMs to ensure entry to ports and yards and successful safety inspection checks.

More ship owners need to consider possession of IHMs to ensure their vessels are truly free of asbestos and other hazardous materials. Until clarification on regulation and guidance is agreed upon, ship owners should rely only on hazardous material experts such as Lucion Marine to provide accredited, experienced and expert advice on asbestos and hazard management.

Source: Lucion Marine. 14 February 2012

http://www.greenpassport.net/are-class-societies-to-blame-for-asbestos-exposure/

Top dollar still top priority for scrap ship owners:

Hopes have been dashed that owners might have pulled their weight.

Hopes that shipowners would voluntarily implement technical aspects of the new Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) because of the years it will take to actually enter into force appear to have been dashed.

Commercial pressures mean that the vast majority of owners still pay little attention to whether their end-of-life vessels end up in a yard that complies with the requirements of the convention. Top dollar remains paramount.

Consequently, the vast majority of vessels are still heading for the Indian subcontinent. India may have moved toward compliance with the convention through such requirements as hazardous materials declarations but Bangladesh and Pakistan have a long way to go.

Tom Peter Blankestijn, founder of green-recycling supervision company Sea2Cradle, says he was hoping for a gradual increase in the number of owners sending, for ethical reasons, their ships for recycling alongside piers in China, rather than beaching, but he was too optimistic. There has been no large-scale change of attitude.

It is still mainly restricted to Scandinavian and Japanese owners, as well as oil majors, says Blankestijn.

“We are far way from voluntary implementation of the convention,” he added.

Blankestijn says take-up for inventories of hazardous materials (IHMs) has been limited mainly to newbuildings and not existing ships.

This is despite shipowners’ associations such as the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Intertanko agreeing to support voluntary implementation of the convention’s technical requirements, including IHMs.

Recently there has also been criticism of the continuing installation or use of asbestos in ships, either at the newbuilding or refit stage, prohibition of which forms part of the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) Convention as well as the HKC, and which has potentially serious implications when vessels have to be scrapped.

The ongoing use of asbestos in equipment installations cannot necessarily be blamed on owners, although observers point out that they have site teams present at yards. Class has been accused of not being sufficiently vigilant in their checks, instead accepting asbestos-free declarations at face value. Procedures, it is claimed, will tighten following a recent submission by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Blankestijn concurs with critic Henning Gramann of Green Ship Recycling (GSR) Services that there has been inadequate scrutiny of vessels for asbestos but says that in most cases the material does not pose a hazard provided people know where it is located and dust is not released.

Meanwhile, he declines to comment on if and when the HKC will be ratified but says the process has been complicated by including recycling capacity as one of the entry-into-force criteria.

“The big flag states will be waiting for the big recycling states and vice-versa,” said Blankestijn.

Blankestijn says Sea2Cradle, a company borne out of the former Maersk Ship Recycling, handled seven “green” recycling projects for owners last year. 3 involved LNG carriers for oil majors, 2 were car carriers and 2 Usflag containerships.

All were handled in China apart from one smaller ship at Van Heyghen in Belgium, although the same vessel-recycling plans were used.

Blankestijn claims that waste handling in Belgium and China is similar, although Van Heyghen makes greater use of shear cutting equipment as opposed to gas cutting in China.

Sea2Cradle has, according to Blankestijn, a long-term contract to co-operate with AP Moller-Maersk whenever it has ships for demolition.

Source: TradeWinds Business Report. By Geoff Garfield. 9 March 2012

Norway caught in ship recycling dilemma:

The country will certainly ratify the Hong Kong Convention but is also doing its bit to help Bangladesh.

Norwegian shipowners are open about the fact that they have a vested interest in seeing ship scrapping continue in a country like Bangladesh.

They need locations in the Indian subcontinent to recycle endof-life tonnage just as much as the Bangladeshis need the reclaimed steel plate to feed the country’s mills.

Last November, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Norwegian government and the Bangladesh Ministry of Industries to move forward a project aimed at raising recycling standards at Chittagong.

Behind the scheme is the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (Norad), which is working with the Bangladesh government and has requested the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to manage the project.

Acceptable health, safety and environmental standards in line with national and international norms is the objective, although progress has been slow and the focus on training rather than infrastructure has attracted plenty of criticism (see story, right).

Funding is expected to be $5m to $6m over a period of three to four years but is restricted to socalled “capacity building” or helping create expertise.

IMO ship-recycling chief Nikos Mikelis told TradeWinds: “With other funding we hope to secure, we will start dealing with the actual hardware.”

Initial talks have been held with shipowners’ associations, although the Bangladesh Ship Breakers’ Association (BSBA) will also be expected to contribute.

Tor Christian Sletner, head of section in the Department of Safety, Environment and Innovation at the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA), says member companies are already advised to demolish their ships in China because of higher safety and environmental standards.

But the fact remains that numerous Norwegian-controlled vessels each year end up on Indian subcontinent beaches.

Not surprisingly, it has attracted the attention of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which recently dubbed Norway as Europe’s second-biggest dumper of toxic tonnage in South Asia with 24 vessels in 2011, the biggest being Greece with 100 vessels.

More than 200 European vessels were sent to beaches in South Asia last year, says the Brusselsbased non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Sletner says Norway does not feel guilty about the NGO report.

It has a huge commercial fleet. At governmental and NSA level it behaves responsibly and this is behind its support for improvements in Bangladesh.

Norway has for the past 10 years played a leading role in formulating the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) and “we very much look forward to it being ratified and coming into force”, says Sletner.

It is hoped that Norway will ratify the HKC this year. Legislative paperwork is already said to be in the parliamentary system.

Environment minister Erik Solheim is said to be commited to its introduction.

Sletner acknowledges the slow pace at which the Norad project in Bangladesh has moved but blames this partly on cultural differences.

The key is motivating yards, including the BSBA, to adopt better standards, he says.

The Norwegian Ministry of Environment is understood to be close to appointing a project leader.

Sletner says the NSA already stresses to its members the importance of compiling inventories of hazardous materials (IHMs), as required by the HKC, prior to selling vessels for demolition.

Although Norad’s focus is not on infrastructure, it is providing money for training and safety equipment. A major training challenge is the fact that so many workers are illiterate.

Sletner claims there are already signs of progress in Bangladesh such as a register of workers, whereas previously labourers simply congregated outside the yards in the hope of getting a job.

Meanwhile, he says Norway will monitor possible entry into the recycling market of other countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

“The world needs these services and we all gain from a healthy industry,” said Sletner.

Japan is also involved in a joint project with the state government of Gujarat to invest $22.5m on upgrading facilities at Alang in India.

Several leading Japanese shipowners joined a delegation visiting India last month, including NYK Line, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and K Line.

Source: TradeWinds Business Report. By Geoff Garfield. 9 March 2012

Brussels pitches for solution to European scrap exports:

A draft paper to replace the European Union (EU)’s Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) and provide shipowners with the means to legally export vessels for scrapping in developing countries is said to be at an advanced stage. 

Soledad Blanco, director of international affairs at the European Commission (EC), used the TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum in Dubai last year to highlight the ease with which the WSR, which is based on the Basel Convention and Basel Amendment, is being circumvented by owners.

The Basel Convention is designed to prevent the movement of hazardous waste from developed to non-developed countries but, where shipping is concerned, Europe is said to have experienced an evasion rate of over 90%.

The new EU regulation, which is based on the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC), will cover the interim period until the HKC enters into force.

It may seek to use bilateral agreements with other countries such as China or India so that recycling yards in those countries can be authorised to recycle European ships.

To succeed, Brussels bureaucrats will have to come up with a means of grading overseas yards as acceptable or not.

International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ship-recycling chief Dr Nikos Mikelis says it is not feasible for Europe to maintain an ongoing audit of yards until the HKC kicks in.

Its best option is to find recycling states willing to voluntarily implement key requirements contained in the IMO recycling convention.

“The early entry into force on a voluntary basis is always a requirement of these conventions but for ship recycling the only way I can see it working is with a big block [such as Europe or China],” said Mikelis.

He is organising a seminar in Beijing in May, to be attended by Chinese government ministries, the EU and shipowners associations, to discuss such an initiative.

Also, Europe is very significant in terms of getting the recycling convention eventually ratified because it controlled in 2010, along with dependent territories, 23% of the world fleet.

Combined with hopefully other convention supporters like Norway, Japan and China, “you are almost there”, says Mikelis.

He adds that he is not disappointed by no party having so far ratified because he acknowledges the time it takes for individual countries to introduce the necessary legislation. The HKC has the additional complication of involving so many ministries including environment and labour.

India, he points out, already has many elements of the HKC following Supreme Court rulings in 2008.

Meanwhile, the position of Mikelis and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposing the convention remain polarised.

“They want to close down Bangladesh, then Pakistan and India,” said Mikelis. These are countries that need recycling, countries that use everything they get from the ships.”

He added: “I’m a lobbyist for reality, real systems that respect the way commerce is done and respects the way shipping is.

They [NGOs] lobby for fairy tales.”

Source: TradeWinds Business Report. By Geoff Garfield. 9 March 2012

IMO ship recycling chief positive on progress:

No state has yet ratified the Hong Kong Convention but Dr Nikos Mikelis says plenty is being done.

Two-and-a-half years after an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) diplomatic conference adopted a new convention, designed to haul the ship-recycling industry into the 21st Century and challenge often appalling health and safety standards, no state has

yet ratified it.

It is likely to take several more years before the convention enters into force and in the meantime shipowners continue to send most of their end-of-life vessels to beaches in the Indian subcontinent with scant regard to how they will be broken up and the waste disposed of.

On the face of it the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) has been a damp squib, not least the apparent apathy among owners to implement voluntarily on any scale provisions contained in the convention.

All this is grist to the mill for the convention’s critics such as the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which will be satisfied with nothing less than an end to the beaching method used to recycle around two-thirds of all ships.

India has around 30% of world recycling capacity, Bangladesh 25% and Pakistan 9%, according to the IMO. China, where “green” recycling is said to be practised (but where standards also vary), has 30% and Turkey 2% of capacity.

But no one expected the convention to have an easy ride, especially given the fact that as well as ratification requiring 15 states whose fleets must comprise at least 40% of world gross tonnage, a threshold of ship-recycling capacity is also required. The latter sets it apart from other conventions and makes entry into force that much harder.

So what progress is being made?

Plenty, according to the indefatigable Dr Nikos Mikelis, the IMO’s ship-recycling head whose determination to see the convention succeed has seen him shuttle regularly in the past year between London and Asia.

At TradeWinds’s Ship Recycling Forum in Singapore next week he is expected to tackle some of the issues that have surrounded the convention from day one, not least whether the financial burden is being divided equally between stakeholders, including shipowners and recyclers.

He reckons that in the final analysis the load is spread equitably and in an interview with TradeWinds argued that recyclers are already “putting their hands in their pockets” to raise yard standards.

Mikelis uses as evidence a sequence of photographs taken on visits to Bangladesh in recent years that show increasing evidence of the use of hard hats, proper footwear and the construction of sludge tanks and asbestos facilities, as well as the use of cranes. There is less evidence of workers in flip-flops, although Mikelis concedes improvements are patchy and certainly not universal across yards.

The Bangladesh Ship Breakers’ Association (BSBA) is also building a medical centre for which Mikelis says he has been talking to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the hope it can help in locating donated beds and other equipment such as X-ray machines.

“Recyclers are making money and some are investing,” said Mikelis. “The hospital is a brilliant example.”

He added: “I believe that if morality and realism drive the regulatory issue then all the rest will fall into place. This is what I have seen happening.”

Mikelis also rounds on some of the convention’s critics who remain scathing in their condemnation of it allowing the beaching method to continue using cheap labour.

Reports of workers being paid just $3 or $4 per day sounds like exploitation but it has to be put into context, says Mikelis. He cites World Bank figures showing 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Bangladesh of just $675, Pakistan $1,019 and India $1,475 — as compared with $10,094 in Turkey, $36,144 in the UK and $42,831 in Japan.

He does not expect cash buyers to pay for yard improvements, categorising them as deal facilitators like brokers, but he urges them to voluntarily “jump in and help”.

He applaudes owners who, for example, select the best yards in India but he accepts they remain very much in the minority.

“It drives other yards to pay attention and rewards those who have put their faith in higher standards,” said Mikelis.

“Placing a moral obligation on everyone I don’t think works.”

He says he has been focussing especially on Bangladesh because ship recycling is such a useful industry for the country. Steel plates, as in India and Pakistan, are sold for rerolling and used especially in the construction industry.

The problem facing Pakistan, says Mikelis, is not so much eventually being able to comply with the HKC but disposing of the waste and here Gaddani, as well as Chittagong in Bangladesh, is receiving help from the Basel Convention.

The IMO convention focusses on the control and authorisation of procedures inside the yards and only refers broadly to waste having to be treated in an environmentally sound manner, using authorised facilities, once outside the gates. That is where the Basel Convention becomes relevant.

Mikelis claimed: “The 2 conventions will sit beautifully next to each other. They both have a role to play.”

The IMO section head’s comments will no doubt trigger a further response in a few days’ time at TradeWinds’s Singapore forum from the convention’s detractors, who insist that ships are covered by the Basel Convention and that owners are in daily breach of it by exporting them to countries in South Asia.

At the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (Cop10) in Cartagena last October, states were divided over whether the new IMO convention provides equivalency of control, although Mikelis is quick to point out that it won backing from parties, including within the European Union (EU), that have been involved in its development.

“Supporters of the convention, as a result of Cop10, have become more galvanised,” claimed Mikelis.

Source: TradeWinds Business Report. By Geoff Garfield. 9 March 2012