Brussels, 12 April
2016 - Today, the European Commission (EC) publishes technical guidance for ship recycling
facilities that want to be approved under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. The
European Union (EU) mirrors with this step the call by environmental and human
rights NGOs for a relocation of ship recycling to platforms that can ensure
sustainable practices. Facilities that intend to be listed as EU-approved will
need to ensure safe working conditions, pollution control including proper
downstream waste management and enforcement of international labour rights.
“Recycling yards
that want to make it on the EU list of approved facilities need to meet high
environmental and safety standards. The EC is clear in its message: an
unprotected beach is never going to be an appropriate place for a high-risk
heavy industry involving hazardous waste management”, said Ingvild Jenssen,
Policy Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
According to the
EU, ship recycling is an industrial activity that needs industrial methods,
equipment and standards. Workers and the environment anywhere in the world have
the same right to protection under the EU Regulation. Attempts by some Member
States with strong shipping interests to water down the requirements of the
Regulation, more specifically, to accept low-cost beaching facilities in South
Asia as environmentally friendly and safe for workers in order to make it on
the list, have not been successful.
The EU list of
approved ship recycling facilities [1] will become a global reference point for
sustainable ship recycling. It rewards the companies that already have or are
willing to invest in the necessary infrastructure and the employment of fully
trained workers to ensure safe and environmentally sound recycling practices.
The yards responsible shipping companies such as Hapag Lloyd, Wilhelmsen, Grieg
and Royal Dutch Boskalis work with in Europe, China and Turkey will most likely
feature on the EU list after having provided evidence that they comply with the
requirements and in some cases also having improved their practices in order to
meet the European standard. By promising to clearly distinguishing good from
bad practices [2], the EU list has also already prompted the establishment of
new facilities that see opportunities for an increased market share.
For ship owners,
the EU list will be the only guarantee that their end-of-life vessels are not
causing harm to workers and the environment. Backed by ‘independent verifiers
with qualifications’ and audits by the EC or agents acting on its behalf, a
further important warranty lays in the right NGOs have to submit complaints and
concerns to the EC regarding the functioning of a facility and with that prompt
an on-site visit to establish whether the facility should be removed from the
list.
“While only vessels
sailing under an EU flag will be legally obliged to use an EU approved
facility, any shipping company around the world with a responsible policy can
use the EU listed facilities to prove their effort”, said Jenssen.
CONTACT
Ingvild Jenssen
Policy Director
NGO Shipbreaking
Platform
ingvild@shipbreakingplatform.org
+32 2 6094 420
NOTES
[1] The EU list of
approved ship recycling facilities is expected to be published by the end of
2016. Applications from facilities that want to feature on the first batch of
the list need to be sent to the EC by 1 July 2016.
[2] Unlike the
industry driven International Maritime Organisation (IMO) the EU is not
rubberstamping the unnecessarily risky activity of managing reverse logistics
of ship material management on a beach. The EU requirements go beyond the IMO’s
Hong Kong Convention (HKC), a piece of law which was adopted in 2009, but so
far has only been ratified by four countries and is unlikely to enter into
force in due time. More than 100 global environmental and human rights
organisations, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics and
European policy makers have denounced the HKC for merely rubberstamping the
status quo.
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