Asian Shipowners’ Association confirms its position on ship recycling

Since there has been an increasing global demand for shipping, the result of ship recycling volume in 2021 did not grow as expected and was 24.3 million dwt. This year, volumes are expected to be much the same. However, according to Clarksons Research, 2023 is projected to reach 45.5 million dwt due to the impact of more stringent environmental regulations and wider green pressure, which accelerates many of the aged ships to be recycled.

The ASA reconfirmed that there is an urgent need to develop Hong Kong Convention (HKC) certified yards in multiple countries to meet this demand and for reducing risks when a pandemic like Covid-19 emerges.

The ASA believes that China and Bangladesh hold the key for the early enactment of the HKC. “India continues and is expected to be the core of green recycling, and it would be especially great if India’s successful experience in accelerating the growth of HKC green yards by motivation from shipowners could also be seen in Bangladesh. This will lead to the improvement of the environment for ratifying the HKC by the first quarter of 2023 declared by the Bangladesh government.” The ASA SRC has a plan to dispatch a delegation from the ASA SRC to Bangladesh to promote dialogue with ship recyclers and concerned government officials.

The ASA also states: “China is the only country who holds the trigger in 2022 for the early fulfilment of the HKC’s requirements, and we will raise our voices until the precious value of ratification by China is achieved. We hope that China will proceed with ratifying the convention within this year as a leader for sustaining global environmental conservation.”

The Hong Kong Convention

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (the Hong Kong Convention), was adopted at a diplomatic conference held in Hong Kong, China, from 11 to 15 May 2009, which was attended by delegates from 63 countries.

The Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment.

Upon entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention, ships to be sent for recycling will be required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, which will be specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards will be required to provide a Ship Recycling Plan, specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory.

The Convention will enter into force 24 months after the date on which 15 States, representing 40% of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, have acceded to it. Currently, the 17 Contracting States to the Convention represent approximately 29.77% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping and include: Belgium, Congo, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Japan, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Serbia, Spain and Turkey.