BUILDING TRUST. SHAPING SAFETY
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Technical Notices

Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling finally ratified

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The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention) is set to enter into force within 24 months, after Bangladesh and Liberia became Contracting States to the Convention.

The convention was finally ratified by two of the biggest ship-recycling countries after years-long efforts by the IMO to bring them on board.

Key requirements

The key requirements can be summarized in two main points:

  1. Each ship of 500 GT and above shall have a certified Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM)
  2. Ship Recycling Facilities (SRF) shall be authorized by their competent authorities and shall only accept ships that comply with the HKC requirements

 
The long time needed for ratification of the HKC has caused the EU to take action, resulting in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR), which entered into force on 30 December 2013 and has been fully applicable since 31 December 2020.

The EU SRR adopted the requirements of the HKC as well as some additional requirements. Although the EU SRR is only applicable on a regional level, it has prepared the industry for compliance with the HKC requirements.

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