Shipping - Pakistan joins ship recycling agreement
Pakistan has joined the Hong Kong Convention, which will soon regulate globally standardized rules for environmental protection and occupational safety when recycling ships. This was announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London on Friday. Alongside Bangladesh and India, Pakistan is by far one of the three largest ship dismantling nations. Bangladesh and India have already joined the Hong Kong Convention.
In the EU, the scrapping of old ships is strictly regulated. These may only be recycled in certified facilities, which may also be located outside the EU. Globally applicable rules have been in place since 2009 - but so far only on paper, as the Hong Kong Convention will not come into force until June 26, 2025. This became possible because a sufficient number of countries only ratified the convention when Bangladesh and Liberia joined in the summer.
In Europe, Turkey is the focus of ship recycling. "In the other European countries, only small and medium-sized ships have been recycled so far," according to a study carried out for the German Maritime Center (DMZ). In Germany, there are no shipbreaking yards for decommissioned ships.
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 IMO and shipowners' associations, this should improve significantly when the Hong Kong Convention comes into force.
With the climate-friendly conversion of shipping fleets, ship graveyards are likely to see unprecedented growth in the coming years. The Denmark-based international shipping association Bimco estimated this year that more than 15,000 ships with a carrying capacity of over 600 million tons are expected to be recycled in the next ten years, more than double the amount recycled in the previous ten years.
EU regulation on shipments of waste EU regulation on the recycling of ships IMO on Hong Kong Convention IMO communication of 1.12.
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- The World Shipping Organization, based in Hamburg, has been advocating for the implementation of the Hong Kong Convention worldwide.
- India, being a significant player in the global shipbuilding industry, has a crucial role to play in adhering to the environmental and safety standards set by the Hong Kong Convention.
- Pakistan's entry into the Hong Kong Convention aligns with the global efforts towards responsible ship recycling, a practice that also extends to Bangladesh and other nations.
- Regulations on shipping and waste disposal, including the recycling of ships, are strictly enforced within the EU, ensuring adherence to environmental and safety standards.
- Countries like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, known for their extensive ship dismantling activities, will need to invest in infrastructure and training to comply with the upcoming Hong Kong Convention regulations.
- The EU, along with international organizations such as the IMO, is focusing on encouraging environmentally friendly practices in shipping, which will eventually impact the ship recycling industry in countries like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
- With EU regulations emphasizing eco-friendly practices in shipping, there's an increasing potential for international cooperation in ship recycling, benefiting countries like Pakistan that have recently joined the Hong Kong Convention.
Source: www.stern.de
