Skip to main content Skip to page footer
elni logo elni logo

Hong Kong Convention and EU Ship Recycling Regulation: Can they change bad industrial practices soon?

Thomas Ormond

elni Review 2012, Issue 2,  pp. 54-58. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2012.009

In May 2009, 63 countries adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The agreement was meant to end the anarchy of highly dangerous and extremely polluting ship dismantling practices which are still prevalent on the scrapyard beaches of Southern Asia. However, none of the conference participants has so far ratified the Convention and its entering into force looks far off. In March 2012, the European Commission thus presented a proposal for an EU Ship Recycling Regulation in order to speed up the ratification process as well as to introduce additional measures for European ships. The following article looks at the two legal instruments and their chances of success.

Access full article

References

  1. Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (MEPC), 2011, Document MEPC 62/INF.13 of 19 April 2011.
  2. Lloyd’s Register, Ship recycling. Practice and regulation today, June 2011.
  3. T.G. Puthucherril, From Shipbreaking to Sustainable Ship Recycling. Evolution of a Legal Regime, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004174917.i-290.
  4. UNEP, Convention of Basel, 2004, Report of the meeting, UNEP/CHW.7/33, Decision VII/26 Environmentally sound management of ship dismantling.
  5. T. Ormond, Enforcing EU environmental law outside Europe? The case of ship dismantling, in: elni Review vol 1/2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2009.002.
  6. R. Lagoni / J. Albers, Schiffe als Abfall?, in: Natur und Recht (2008) 30, pp. 220-227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10357-008-1442-z.
  7. European Commission, 2012 Commission Staff Working Document, Impact Assessment, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ship recycling, SWD(2012) 47 final.
  8. Conseil d’Etat, decision of 15.2.2006 (Clemenceau).
  9. Raad van State, decisions of 19.6.2002 (Sandrien) and 21.2.2007 (Otapan).
  10. ‘Media alert – NGOs call on Germany: Stop toxic ship before it reaches Alang graveyard’, Shipbreaking Platform, 7.9.2012.
  11. International Maritime Organization (IMO), 2009, International Conference on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, Adoption of the final act and any instruments, recommendations and resolutions resulting from the work of the conference, Hong Kong international Convention for the safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, SR/CONF/45. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2211-4394_rwilwo_SIM_033017.
  12. S. Alam, International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, in: The Law and Politics of Sustainability. Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, vol. 3, 2011, pp. 74-77.
  13. Submission of the EU and its Member States presenting the table and preliminary assessment pursuant to decision OEWG-VII/12 (environmentally sound dismantling of ships), 2011.
  14. Japanese Shipowners’ Association, presentation “Current Situation on Ship Recycling” at the ASF Ship Recycling Committee session in Taiwan, 23.3.2012.
  15. Commission of the European Communities, 2008, Commission Staff Working Document, Impact Assessment for an EU strategy for better ship dismantling, SEC(2008) 2846.
  16. Commission of the European Communities, 2007, Green Paper on better ship dismantling, COM(2007) 269 final.
  17. European Commission, 2012, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ship recycling, COM(2012) 118 final.
  18. European Commission, Commission Staff Working Document, Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment, Accompanying the document, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the COUNCIL on ship recycling, SWD(2012) 45 final.
  19. European Commission, 2012, Proposal for a Council Decision, requiring Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, in the interests of the European Union, COM(2012) 120 final.
  20. D. Osler, 2012, A third of ships are exempt from safety and pollution rules, Lloyd’s List, 13.9.2012.
  21. D. Osler, 2012, Shipbreakers cash in prime location, Lloyd’s List, 19.7.2012.
  22. C. Deason, 2012, North Europe’s small recycling yards ride growth in demand for scrap, Lloyd’s List, 9.8.2012.
  23. L. McCarthy, 2012, Sanctions suggested to quickly enforce ship recycling improvements, Lloyd’s List, 22.6.2012.