The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), an organization for shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers and agents, has launched a Ship Recycling Alliance to help accelerate the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships.
June is when the The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) comes into force. This agreement, according to the HKC, aims to address the issues around ship recycling “including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, ozone depleting substances and others.” It will also address concerns about working and environmental conditions in many of the world’s ship recycling facilities.
The HKC encourages increased recycling. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the states in the HKC convention only recycled ships accounting for about 24 million gross tons between 2013 and 2023. That was about 3.31% of the required recycling volume. BIMCO said that in the next 10 years more than 15,000 ships are expected to be recycled: more than twice the amount recycled in the previous ten years.
Today, the group said, only a minority of shipowners choose voluntary HKC compliant recycling. This makes critical the need for compliant recycling yards from main recycling states such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
“Part of the ship recycling industry is already trying to live up to the HKC standards ahead of its entry into force. To succeed in having our ships recycled responsibly and safely for people and the environment, we need all stakeholders to engage and step up pace. The Ship Recycling Alliance will connect stakeholders, advise regulators and create awareness among the public,” says BIMCO’s Secretary General & CEO, David Loosley.
An important task will therefore be to liaise with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (BC) and the states that are party to these organizations to seek legal clarity on the interaction between both conventions.
This will include assessing, considering and responding to any proposals for future amendments to the HKC, and providing support for the implementation and enforcement of the BC requirements for the management of waste originating from the ship’s recycling process.
“It is high time for an initiative like the Ship Recycling Alliance to be launched and put to work. We need an alliance that can formulate and represent the views of the international ship recycling industry and connect that with all other stakeholders involved. Doing so, we strongly believe we can move forward and fuel progress,” says Dr. Nikos Mikelis, non-Executive Director of GMS, former IMO Head, Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling, Marine Environment Division and Chairperson of the alliance.
The founding members of the new Ship Recycling Alliance are BIMCO, the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), the Turkish Ship Recycling Industry Association (GEMISANDER), global cash buyer GMS, ship recycling services’ company Guideship, Pakistan Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (PSBRA), the Ship Recycling Industries Association of India (SRIA), the International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA), global cash buyer Wirana and Indian ship recycling group, Bansal Group.
