As required under the European Regulation on
ship recycling, the European Commission recently published a report on the
feasibility of a financial instrument that would facilitate safe and sound ship
recycling. Questions were raised on a number of issues, including the
compatibility of such a financial instrument with E.U. and international law,
and the conclusion was that further analysis is needed.
This is how international shipowners see the
situation as well. The E.U. may not have competence to administer an E.U. ship
recycling scheme. Rather than adding another administrative burden to all
concerned parties, support should be given to the positive development of
recycling yards around the world becoming compatible with the Hong Kong
Convention.
We have to make sure that ship recycling
happens in safe and environmentally sound way. The most effective and speedy
way to deliver that objective at the global level is through early and wide
ratification and implementation of the Hong Kong Convention.
The Convention, adopted in 2009 but not yet
entered into force, provides a meaningful system of workable and enforceable
regulations with the ultimate goal of lifting the level of sustainability of
recycling facilities on a global scale to the benefit of all parties involved.
It places clear and pertinent obligations on all parties concerned –
shipowners, recycling facilities, flag states as well as recycling states – to
ensure that end-of-life ships do not pose any unnecessary risks to human
health, safety and the environment when being recycled.
The European Union adopted the E.U. Ship
Recycling Regulation in 2013. It brings forward the requirements of the Hong
Kong Convention and applies them to end of life ships flagged with E.U. Member
States. According to the Regulation, owners of ships flying the flag of E.U.
Member States will have to ensure that their ships are recycled in facilities
included on the E.U. list of approved ship recycling facilities.
The European Commission published its first
edition of the E.U. list in 2016. It includes 18 European recycling yards that
are deemed safe for workers and environmentally sound. Currently these yards
featured in the list unfortunately reach only about 12 percent of the E.U.’s
own recycling capacity target. The next edition of the list including global
shipyards should be published by the end of 2017, at the earliest triggering
the application of the Regulation six months later. The European requirements
are therefore likely to come into effect before the Hong Kong Convention.
The E.U. Ship Recycling Regulation offers a
positive opportunity to build up an effective international regime both in
terms of safety, health and environmental impacts. In this view, the E.U. list
of approved recycling facilities plays a strategic role in motivating recycling
yards all over the world to become compliant with the international
requirements as they want to be included in the list. As a consequence this will help swift
entering into force of the Hong Kong Convention.
Ship recycling is an important industry for
sustainable production and supports the developing economies of several
countries. As ship breaking in most developed countries became economically
non-viable in the 1950s, low-cost Asian countries began to dominate the
industry. In recent years, over 90 percent of ships have been demolished in the
global ship breaking centers of India, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan.
Ship recycling – complete or partial
dismantling of a ship enabling the re-use of valuable materials. The materials
of the ships, especially steel, are recycled and made into new products. Any
re-usable equipment, electrical devices and other items on board are also
recycled. Even many hazardous wastes can be recycled into new products such as
lead-acid batteries and electronic circuit boards. In this way, ship recycling
is a notable part of the circular economy, keeping resources at use for as long
as possible and minimizing waste.
Karoliina Rasi is Director – Public Affairs
& Communications for the European Community Shipowners' Associations.
Source:
maritime-executive.
25 August 2017
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