The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) will come into full force in 2025 after being ratified by two major ship-recycling countries.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) first adopted the international convention on ship recycling in 2009, along with 63 countries. However, it was only in June that it was entirely sanctioned after ratification of the treaty by Bangladesh and Liberia.

“I congratulate Bangladesh and Liberia for depositing their instruments of accession, triggering within 24 months the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention and the global regime for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships,” said Kitack Lim, secretary general of the IMO. “This is a momentous day for IMO, and it is indeed a historical development for the international shipping industry, the marine environment, and especially for workers and local communities in ship recycling countries globally.”

The Hong Kong Convention provides international regulation of ship recycling to ensure that a ship is recycled when it reaches the end of its operational life and does not become a threat to the environment or human health and safety. It also covers end-of-life care for ships and their safe and environmentally friendly recycling, improving the safety of ship recycling yards.

An IMO representative told Asia Cargo News that the new convention would require new ships to have a hazardous materials inventory and existing vessels to have one “as far as practicable” within five years of enforcement.

“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,” said Natasha Brown, head of public information services at the IMO.

She added that ships will be required to have an initial survey to verify the inventory of hazardous materials, additional surveys during the ship’s life, and a final survey prior to recycling. In addition, she noted ship recycling yards will be required to provide a ship recycling plan, specifying how each ship will be recycled depending on its particulars and inventory.

Brown said this would lead to more significant consideration regarding ship design and construction and the use of hazardous materials since the parties are required to prohibit and restrict the installation or use of hazardous materials listed in the annexe to the treaty.

“With mandatory requirements in place for ships, such as requiring an inventory of hazardous materials and readying the ship for recycling, and certification of ship recycling yards, the intention is to improve conditions and support greater sustainability,” she said.

Gudrun Janssens, manager of intergovernmental engagement at BIMCO – one of the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners – in Brussels, said that one of the most significant impacts on new builds and ships in service when the Hong Kong Convention enters into force is the requirement for an inventory of hazardous materials (IHM).

“This is already a requirement for ships entering EU ports, and with the Hong Kong Convention entering into force, all states that have ratified the convention must ensure that ships have an IHM that is updated throughout the lifespan of the ship and verified by the flag state,” she told Asia Cargo News. “The convention’s approach to focusing on the ship’s entire lifespan to protect humans and the environment is one of the major impacts we will see when the convention enters into force.”

According to Janssens, the convention entering into force is not expected to result in a fleet renewal, but existing ships must be equipped with an IHM. Regarding the cost and practices of recycling, she said the cost of responsible and compliant ship recycling is expected to be somewhat higher than recycling at non-compliant recycling facilities once the convention has entered into force.

She added: “We know from existing practices that it is relatively more expensive to use a recycling facility that is compliant with the convention. However, this is the price stakeholders must pay for making sure that workers are safe and the environment is protected, which is the aim of the Hong Kong Convention.”

Janssens noted, however, that the convention entering into force is “only the beginning” and ensuring sustainable recycling is a long-term commitment for all stakeholders and nations involved. At the policy level, she said that one of the next steps in the process is to ensure legal certainty.

“We need the Basel Convention and the Hong Kong Convention to co-exist. This can be done if party states to the Basel Convention declare that the Hong Kong Convention has an equivalent level of control over ships going for recycling. Without this clarification, shipowners risk prosecution,” she added.

In addition, Janssens shared the organization would keep engaging with stakeholders to support the commitments of a safe and environmentally sound ship recycling industry.

“The biggest and most important impact of the Hong Kong Convention entering into force is that recycling nations that are parties to the convention will be committing to upgrading their recycling facilities in order to comply,” she said.

“This, in effect, means that shipowners will increasingly be able to send their end-of-life ships to compliant facilities. It is crucial that shipowners commit and choose to recycle only at facilities that live up to the convention.”

Although the convention only requires 15 nation signatories, it also mandates that they represent at least 40% of global commercial shipping by tonnage and a combined annual ship recycling volume of no less than 3% of their total tonnage for it to come into force.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest ship-recycling countries by capacity, while Liberia is one of the world’s largest flag states by tonnage.

With both Bangladesh and Liberia ratifying the Hong Kong Convention on June 26 this year, the regulations will come into force on June 26, 2025.

ByCharlee C. Delavin
Asia Cargo News | Hong Kong