2023-06-27 12:15:29
Container Ship
The international shipping association Bimco estimates that more than 15,000 ships are expected to be recycled in the next ten years.
(Photo: dpa)
Hamburg/London For the recycling of ships, uniform rules for environmental protection and occupational safety are to apply worldwide from mid-2025. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Monday evening, the relevant Hong Kong Convention can come into force once Bangladesh and Liberia have joined.
The German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) spoke on Tuesday in Hamburg of an “important milestone for the entire maritime industry”. The agreement serves as a “blueprint for the shipping industry’s global commitment to marine protection and the promotion of sustainable ship recycling”.
The international non-governmental organization Shipbreaking Platform has been denouncing for years that the scrapping of old and polluted ships repeatedly leads to environmental damage, human rights violations, child labour, illness and death. According to the shipowners’ association, this should improve significantly with the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention.
“By complying with the provisions of the Convention, shipowners can ensure that their ships are dismantled in a manner that prioritizes worker safety, prevents pollution of the marine environment and promotes the recycling of valuable materials,” the statement said VDR notification.
The scrapping of old ships is already strictly regulated in the EU. These may only be recycled in EU-certified facilities. Global rules have existed on paper since 2009. However, the Hong Kong Convention will only come into force when at least 15 countries with 40 percent of the global merchant fleet tonnage have joined. “These conditions have now been met and the agreement will come into force on June 26, 2025,” said the IMO, which as a UN special organization sets international rules for shipping.
With the climate-friendly conversion of the ship fleets, the ship cemeteries are likely to gain unprecedented popularity in the next few years. Denmark-based international shipping association Bimco estimates that more than 15,000 ships with a deadweight tonnage of over 600 million tonnes are expected to be recycled over the next decade, more than double the amount recycled in the previous decade.
According to the association, by far the largest part of the tonnage is scrapped and processed in the Asian countries of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
More: Climate killer cruise: How sustainable can the ships become?
#Rules #ship #recycling #force #shipowners #milestone