BIMCO urges IMO to resolve contradictions in ship recycling conventions

International shipping organisation BIMCO has submitted a paper highlighting the need to solve possible conflicting requirements of the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention which could have severe consequences for shipowners, ship recycling facilities, and ships.

BIMCO, along with Bangladesh, India, Norway, Pakistan, and the International Chamber of Shipping, sent the paper ahead of the 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting set to be held March 18-22, 2024.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships will enter into force on June 26, 2025. Ahead of its entering into force, BIMCO and the co-signatories of the paper asked the MEPC of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for more legal certainty.

This includes clarification and assurance that shipowners and parties operating in compliance with the Hong Kong Convention will not be sanctioned as a violation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

In some jurisdictions, contravention of the Basel Convention, as applied to ship recycling, has resulted in sanctions against shipowners and masters. 

“The ratification of the Hong Kong Convention marks the beginning of a new era for the ship recycling industry. We must make sure that legal obstacles and conflicts between the two conventions governing the safe and sound recycling of ships do not limit the scope of this historic opportunity,” BIMCO’s secretary-general and CEO David Loosley said.

One of the inconsistencies the paper pointed out is related to hazardous waste. Once a ship has received an International Ready for Recycling Certificate (IRRC) under the Hong Kong Convention, it may at the same time be considered a hazardous waste under the provisions of the Basel Convention. During the entire validity period of the certificate – which is up to three months – the ship could risk being arrested for breach of the Basel Convention requirements while trading. 

According to BIMCO, since both conventions can apply to end-of-life ships, shipowners risk prosecution in cases when the shipowner has sent the ships for safe and environmentally sound recycling at yards that comply with the Hong Kong Convention in one of the four major recycling states, namely Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Turkey.

“We and the co-sponsors of this paper welcome and support the increased transparency and rising standards brought about by the Hong Kong Convention finally entering into force. It is therefore crucial for the consistent implementation of the convention to ensure that compliance does not result in sanctions under the Basel Convention,” Loosley added.