The European Commission has proposed new rules aimed at tightening the law on ship recycling
The European Commission wants to reform the ship recycling industry through a proposal to tighten the law on shipbreaking.
With the new regulation, the Commission is determined to ensure that European ships are only recycled in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound.
The European Commission has proposed new rules aimed at tightening the law on ship recycling
The European Commission wants to reform the ship recycling industry through a proposal to tighten the law on shipbreaking.
With the new regulation, the Commission is determined to ensure that European ships are only recycled in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound.
More than 1,000 large old commercial ships, such as tankers and container vessels, are recycled for their scrap metal every year, but many European ships end up in substandard facilities on the tidal beaches of South Asia. These facilities mostly lack the environmental protection and safety measures needed to manage the hazardous materials contained in end-of-life ships. These include asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tributyl tin and oil sludge. This leads to high accident rates and health risks for workers and extensive environmental pollution.
The principle of the new regulation would be based on the implementation of the IMO's Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling. This means that European-flagged ships would need to have an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) on board and then recycle their vessels at a recycling facility approved by the European Commission. This facility could be anywhere in the world and ship recycling would not be limited to European-based facilities.
The European Council and the European Parliament will now start their discussions on the Commission’s proposal.
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