The introduction of ship recycling licences
for all vessels calling at EU ports has been rejected by the trade association
representing some 80% of the world’s merchant fleet.
The proposal was aired in the conclusion of a
study undertaken on behalf of the European Commission and would compel all
ships calling at EU ports, regardless of flag, to purchase a recycling licence.
There are concerns that shipowners are
re-flagging vessels to a non-EU “flag of convenience” and are thus not subject
to EU rules on ship breaking.
However, the London-headquartered
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said such a licence scheme would
undermine the efforts of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to
improve the working and environmental conditions at the world’s busiest scrapping
yards.
And it added that the introduction of a
licence fee – returned at the end of the vessel’s working life, on condition
the ship was scrapped at an EC-approved yard – could be seen as
anti-competitive.
“Such a draconian unilateral measure, especially
if applied to non-EU ships, is likely to be seen by EU trading partners as
anti-competitive interference into the conduct of international shipping,” said
ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe.
“There is a real danger that other nations
would apply retaliatory measures,” he warned.
The EC study, led by Dutch research and
consultancy firm Ecorys, was tasked with creating a financial incentive to
underpin the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) that entered into force on 30
December 2013. This requires owners of vessels sailing under an EU flag to use
only EU-approved ship yards to scrap their vessels.
The world’s largest container operator,
Maersk Line, has been in a spat with environmental groups over a threat to use
flags of convenience to bypass the EU regulations and said it would continue to
earmark its ships for recycling on the Indian beaches of Alang.
Maersk maintains that recycling a ship at
EU-approved yards – currently just a small number of yards in China and Turkey
– can cost $1m-$2m more per vessel.
The company told The Loadstar last month that
some scrapping yards in Alang “had raised standards” with four facilities now
certified to the 2009-adopted IMO Hong Kong Convention.
“Maersk Group has had a responsible ship
recycling policy since 2009,” said Annette Stube, head of group sustainability.
“Developments in recent years in Alang have seen a number of certified yards
capable of recycling to our standards. In our view, it is essential to support
this development – and we do that most effectively by bringing our ships to be
recycled responsibly in Alang.”
Meanwhile, the European Community Shipowners’
Association (ECSA), has argued that the EU would be better off concentrating
its efforts on getting EU member states to ratify the Hong Kong Convention, and
to recognise the efforts being made by recycling yards in Asia to gain
certification in accordance with IMO standards.
“As well as being unduly complex, widely
impractical and very difficult for the EU to administer, the establishment of
such a [reclaimable licence fee] fund will be an affront to the international
community which has adopted the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling,” said
ECSA secretary general Patrick Verhoeven.
The study report, published by the EC last
week, does not recommend the implementation of a ship recycling licence system
until 31 December 2020, “allowing time for the legislative process and for the
shipping industry to adapt”.
Source: the
load star. 12 July 2016
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