The Pitfalls of Recycling Ships:

Ships and shipping have been subject to regulations which seek to minimise pollution and environmental damage for many years. Issues such as the quality of the fuel used by ships and the disposal of ships waste whether it be rubbish or dirty water slops are strictly governed.

Traditionally at the end of a ship’s working life it ends up on the beaches of India, Pakistan or Bangladesh having been sold for scrap. The ship is then painstakingly broken apart by local workers on local beaches where they are run up at high tide. This is profitable work but dangerous and dirty. It has also come under scrutiny because it is considered environmentally damaging - to the beaches & the workers involved.

The shipping industry has recently attempted to regulate the recycling of ships. The Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships 2009 was adopted in May this year. It is to be known as the Hong Kong Convention. It seeks to regulate the operation of any recycling facilities, their registration and to agree an appropriate enforcement mechanism for clean ship recycling. The Convention has not yet been turned into law. The Convention remains open for ratification by member states from September 2009 to August 2010.

The UK authorities appear to have "jumped the gun” and not waited for the Hong Kong Convention to be ratified. On 7th August 2009 the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier "Margaret Hill” was detained by the Environment Agency in the UK as she attempted to leave English waters to head abroad for scrap dismantling. The Environment Agency claimed they detained the vessel because they were concerned that it might contain hazardous materials such as asbestos. It was also on its way to be broken up in a non OECD country i.e. a country which is not a party to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. India, to where the ship had been ordered, is not in that particular club.

The 50,700 ton LNG is still in Southampton. However its ownership has no connection with this jurisdiction nor is the flagged with the British Shipping Registry. The Environment Agency relied upon the Basel Convention to detain the ship. That convention deals with the movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal internationally. Some commentators have expressed concerns that a defunct gas carrier cannot be defined as "dangerous goods or hazardous waste”.

Thousands of ships pass through the English Channel and English ports every year en route to various destinations including the scrapping beaches in India and Pakistan. Commentators have assumed that the action against the "Margaret Hill” by the UK Environment Agency was a 'one off' but there has been no official statement about any future action.

The official statement from the Environment Agency about the action against the "Margaret Hill” says "There are rules in place to ensure waste ships do not end up in developing countries and cause damage to people and the environment. The Environment Agency will only give permission for a waste ship to be exported if it is going to an authorized recycling site in a country that wants to accept it and has the necessary agreements in place”. The commercial reality is that most of the world’s dead ships are scrapped in "developing countries”.

Meanwhile the ship, which remains under detention in Southampton, can be viewed from Lester Aldridge’s Southampton office. Governments across the world are being encouraged to ratify the Hong Kong Convention as quickly as possible.

Further information about either the Basel or Hong Kong Conventions can be obtained from Linda Jacques at LA Marine.

Source: Lester Aldridge. 9 August 2009

http://www.lester-aldridge.co.uk/news/news/the-pitfalls-of-recycling-ships-1544/