Investments in recycling facilities

The statements of compliance, issued by ClassNK, verify that Ship Breaking Pvt. Ltd. and Priya Blue Industries Pvt. Ltd have carried out substantial improvements in a bid towards safer and green ship recycling, and are in line with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (HKC).

“It is extremely positive to see that Indian yards are taking an active approach to compliance with the international standards on safe and environmentally sound ship recycling even before the rules are implemented,” said Patrick Verhoeven, Secretary General, ECSA. “ECSA firmly believes that such initiatives should be further encouraged, including by the European Commission. Hopefully, more companies will follow soon.”

The Hong Kong Convention (HKC) is yet to enter into force, due to a lack of ratifications by IMO member states, but recent ratifications by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain mean significant progress is being made.

Whilst the European list of approved recycling facilities is continuously delayed, recycling facilities around the globe are already positioning themselves to receive the EU’s stamp of approval.

ECSA says European shipowners welcome this development and hope that the European Commission will acknowledge it accordingly, but this work may be jeopardised if the Commission does not trust the assessment made by ClassNK and decides not to include such Indian pilot projects simply on grounds of method or geography.

“We believe that in the case of Kalthia and Priya Blue, ClassNK’s assessment is extremely valuable and useful. We therefore invite the European Commission to engage in a dialogue with classification societies specifically on ship recycling to ensure that the European list of approved recycling facilities does not base itself on assumptions but rather on-site inspections,” added Benoît Loicq, safety and environment director, ECSA.