India is likely to get help from Japan to improve the
facility at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yard as the Ship Recycling Industries
Association (SRIA) of India on Tuesday agreed to the Japanese condition of
adhering to the norms of Hong Kong Convention (HKC), 2009, on the ship
recycling industry. The decision was taken at a meeting with a high-level
delegation from Japan in Alang, which was also attended by officers of Gujarat
Maritime board and other departments of the state government. After around
four-hour-long deliberations, SRIA agreed to the offer of help from Japan to
help improve facilities at Alang-Sosiya yard, the largest ship breaking yard of
the world in terms of number of ships being dismantled.
“Japan can help India if India is ready to ratify the
Hong Kong Convention. We can help ship recycling industry of India if India
cooperates with the global efforts to put into force the Hong Kong Convention,”
said Mitsuhiko Ida, deputy director for maritime bureau in the Ministry of
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan.
Ida was leading the 14-member Japanese delegation
comprising government officials, shipping industry representatives and industry
experts. The group was on a two-day tour of Alang as part of the high-level
talks between India and Japan initiated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
visit to Japan in September last year during which he had showed strong
commitment to ship recycling industry.
SRIA secretary Nitin Kanakiya, who was leading the
deliberations on behalf of recyclers, responded positively to the proposal. “We
have no problem in conforming with the HKC. Majority of norms laid down in the
HKC are covered in Ship Recycling Code, 2013 of India. But, in return, we
expect technological help from Japan for decontamination of ships after they
are beached,” Kanakiya said. Presently, decontamination is done manually and
success rate, Kanakiya said, was around 95 per cent.
Talking to The Indian Express after the meeting, Ida
said the two counties would work out modalities of helping the recycling
industry in the coming months. “We can help Alang in areas of safety (of
workers) and environment protection. India accounts for around 30 per cent of
recycling industry in the world and is also an important player in
international shipping industry. On the other hand, Japan is a leader in ship
building and ship owning. China and Turkey do not have the capacity to recycle
ships after a limit. Therefore, we want recycling to happen in India. But at
the same time, we believe the recycling should be done as per HKC. Therefore,
we want to help India in getting HKC ratified,” said Ida.
Keiji Tomoda, chairman of Ship Recycling Cub-Committee
of the Japanese Ship Owners’ Association, said it wouldbe a great step if India
ratifies HKC. “Japanese companies own 2,000 out of the total 3,000 major ships
in the world. Most of the Japanese-owned ships go to China for recycling after
their life. But we want to sell end-of-the-life ships to India because India
offers better prices than China,” Tomoda said.
Source: Indian express. 14 January 2014
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