Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2012)120 - Requisition of Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009

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dossier COM(2012)120 - Requisition of Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and ...
source COM(2012)120 EN
date 23-03-2012
The development and continuation of unsound and unsafe practices of ship dismantling is a matter of serious concern. At the end of their operating life, most of the large commercial sea-going vessels are still dismantled in substandard facilities located in Asia (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), usually through 'beaching' method and with significant environmental and health impacts.

The situation is expected to worsen since large numbers of ships are expected to be sent for dismantling in the coming years as a result of an overcapacity of the world fleet which is estimated to remain for at least 5 to 10 years. In addition, the coming peak in ship recycling around the phasing-out date for single-hull tankers (2015) is expected to essentially benefit the most sub-standard facilities.

The current legislation[1] at international and European levels has proven ineffective to put an end to these ship recycling practices.

The current widespread non-compliance is linked:

· with the lack of recycling capacity available within the OECD in particular for the largest commercial ships,

· the fierce and unfair competition between the substandard facilities and other facilities with higher technical standards which are only able to occupy market niches for special types of ships like small ships and government vessels including warships or the fleet of committed shipowners),

· the fact that the current legislation is not adapted to the specificities of ships and international shipping.

In order to improve the situation, Parties to the Basel Convention invited, in 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to develop mandatory requirements for ship recycling[2].

The Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Sound Recycling of Ships (thereafter refered to as the Hong Kong Convention) was adopted in May 2009 by the International Maritime Organization. It needs to be ratified by a sufficient number of both large flag and recycling states in order to enter into force and start producing effects.

The European Union and its Member States has compared the levels of controls and enforcement provided by the Hong Kong and the Basel Conventions in their entirety. The conclusion reached in April 2010 was that 'as a preliminary assessment and taking a life cycle perspective, it can therefore be concluded that the Hong Kong Convention appears to provide a level of control and enforcement at least equivalent to that one provided by the Basel Convention for ships which are waste under the Basel Convention and for ships to which the Hong Kong Convention applies and to ships treated similarly pursuant to article 3 i of this latter Convention'.[3]

In October 2011, Parties to the Basel Convention encouraged the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention to enable its entry into force i.

At European level, the Commission adopted a Green Paper on better ship dismantling in 2007 and a Communication proposing an EU strategy on ship dismantling[5] in 2008. This strategy proposed measures to improve ship dismantling conditions as soon as possible, including in the interim period before the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention[6]: i.e. preparing the establishment of measures on key elements of the Convention, encouraging voluntary industry action, providing technical assistance and support to developing countries and better enforcing the current legislation.

In its conclusions on the EU strategy on ship recycling, the Council endorsed the Hong Kong Convention, underlining that it represented a major achievement for the international community, provided a comprehensive system of control and enforcement from 'cradle to grave' and strongly encouraged Member States to ratify the Convention as a matter of priority so as to facilitate its entry into force as early as possible and to generate a real and effective change on the ground[7].