Two Chinese ship recycling yards have applied for
inclusion of their facilities in the future EU list of Ship Recycling
Facilities.
The official documents for the application were
presented yesterday in Brussels to Julio Burgués, Head of the Unit Waste
Management and Recycling of the European Commission’s Directorate General for
Environment by Li Hongwei owner of Zhoushan Changhong International Ship
Recycling Co., Ltd and Jiang Xiagang Changjiang Shiprecycling Yard. With a
capacity of respectively 100 vessels (1.1 million Light Displacement Ton) and
120 vessels (1,2 million LDT) these two yards are the largest ship recycling
facilities in the world.
The application follows the new Ship Recycling
Regulation of the European Commission which was adopted in November 2013.
Li stated that his goal is to serve all ship owners
around the globe with the highest possible standards and that sufficient green
recycling capacity “no longer is subject to discussion but a reality.” In
addition, Li stated, “We welcome the initiative of the European Union and
invite them to audit and inspect our yards at any given time. We are pleased to
improve and invest further to achieve the highest level required.”
The ceremony at the Berlaymont office of the European
Commission in Brussels was attended by Tom Peter Blankestijn of company
Sea2Cradle who have assisted a significant number of leading ship owners to recycle
their vessels at the facilities in China. Blankestijn stated, “With the
experience of executing close to a 100 projects these yards have developed into
the best in the world offering the highest standards on Health Safety and
Environment in the industry.”
The quality level of details of waste handling and
waste disposal, now incorporated in the Ship Recycling Facility Plan (SRFP), is
the basis of today’s EU application. “We are very proud that these are the
first yards, also from outside the OECD, to apply for EU approval,” Blankestijn
said, emphasizing that working together with Lloyds Register was of great
benefit to achieve this quality level of the yard procedures.
Although the internal process towards publication of
the EU list is still ongoing representatives of the DG Environment of the
European Commission, who had visited the yards in 2013, stated to be very
pleased with the application of the Chinese yards to the EU list of Facilities.
The European Union itself was complimented by
Secretary General Bernard Veldhoven of the International Ship Recycling
Association (ISRA) for their legislative work. “Europe has shown us that when
there is a political will, legislation can change the dynamics of an industry
in a relatively short period.”
A second compliment from ISRA went to Li Hongwei for
creating a huge ship recycling capacity in China and offering ship owners the
green alternative for phasing out their ships. It is expected more members of
the International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA), amongst them yards in
Turkey, will follow the application process.
Source: marine link.
18 December 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment