EU 180 Ship Recycling Seminar
15 April 2024The commercial and legal issues involved in selling ships for recycling are complex and far-reaching. The main concern is the safety of workers and the protection of the environment when ships are recycled, as well as ensuring that proper procedures are followed regarding worker rights and the further downstream management of hazardous and other wastes. The IMO Hong Kong Convention, which will enter into force in June 2025, and its accompanying guidelines, as well as the Basel Technical Guidelines on ship recycling, aim to ensure that ships are recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The HKC also requires that contracts between ship owners and recycling yards are in place before any recycling work is undertaken. Furthermore, certain legal requirements must be met in order for ships to be recycled, such as obtaining the necessary certificates and permits. Finally, the recycling process must be conducted in a manner that complies with international standards and conventions. Shipowners with ships flying the flag of an EU Member State face additional challenges of recycling those vessels in a manner that complies with regional legal requirements and environmental standards. This recycling can only occur at approved recycling facilities included in the EU list, leaving the shipowners with limited recycling options. As a result, those shipowners are facing additional difficulties, such as a ban on going to facilities in no-OECD States, even if any would be on the EU list, depending on the location of the ship when it becomes end of life. In an industry operating continuously at the global level, this creates major legal uncertainties and a serious distortion of competition between ships flying the flag of an EU Member State and other ships. Watch the BIMCO movie: “Ship recycling: Time for Change” https://www.bimco.org/trending-topics/recycling
