The Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, or Hong Kong Convention is a mulitateral convention adopted in 2009, which has not entered into force. The conference that created the convention was attended by 63 countries, and overseen by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is a specialist agency of the United Nations (U.N).
The convention has been designed to try to improve the health and safety of current ship breaking practices. Ship breaking is considered to be "amongst the most dangerous of occupations, with unacceptably high levels of fatalities, injuries and work-related diseases" by the ILO as large ships are often beached and then dismantled by hand by workers with very little personal protective equipment (PPE). This is most common in Asia, with India, Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan holding the largest ship breaking yards.
The Hong Kong Convention recognised that ship recycling is the most environmentally sound way to dispose of a ship at the end of its life, as most of the ship's materials can be reused. However, it sees current methods as unacceptable. The work sees many injuries and fatalities to workers, as they lack the correct safety equipment to handle the large ship correctly as it is dismantled and most vessels contain a large amount of hazardous materials such as asbestos, PCBs, TBT, and CFCs, which can also lead to highly life-threatening diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
The Convention is open for accession by any State. it'll enter into force 24 months when the date on that fifteen States, representing forty per cent of world merchandiser shipping by gross duty, have either signed it while not reservation on agreement, acceptance or approval or have deposited instruments of agreement, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General. what is more, the combined most annual ship use volume of these States should, throughout the preceding ten years, represent not but three per cent of their combined merchandiser shipping duty. For additional elaborate info please visit resolution MEPC.178(59) on the calculation of the use capability for meeting the entry-into-force conditions of the urban center Convention and document MEPC 64/INF.2/Rev.1 on a similar topic.
The guidelines noted that, in the process of recycling ships, virtually nothing goes to waste. The materials and equipment are almost entirely reused. Steel is reprocessed to become, for instance, reinforcing rods for use in the construction industry or as corner castings and hinges for containers. Ships' generators are reused ashore. Batteries find their way into the local economy. Hydrocarbons on board become reclaimed oil products to be used as fuel in rolling mills or brick kilns. Light fittings find further use on land. Furthermore, new steel production from recycled steel requires only one third of the energy used for steel production from raw materials. Recycling thus makes a positive contribution to the global conservation of energy and resources and, in the process, employs a large, if predominantly unskilled, workforce. Properly handled, ship recycling is, without question, a "green" industry. However, the guidelines also recognized that, although the principle of ship recycling may be sound, the working practices and environmental standards in the yards often leave much to be desired. While ultimate responsibility for conditions in the yards has to lie with the countries in which they are situated, other stakeholders must be encouraged to contribute towards minimising potential problems in the yards.
The Guidelines on Ship Recycling also introduced the concept of a "Green Passport" for ships. It was envisaged that this document, containing an inventory of all materials used in the construction of a ship that are potentially hazardous to human health or the environment, would accompany the ship throughout its working life. Produced by the shipyard at the construction stage and passed to the purchaser of the vessel, the document would be in a format that would enable any subsequent changes in materials or equipment to be recorded. Successive owners of the ship would maintain the accuracy of the Green Passport and incorporate into it all relevant design and equipment changes, with the final owner delivering it, with the vessel, to the recycling yard.
Subsequently, at its 53rd session in July 2005, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) agreed that the IMO should develop, as a high priority, a new instrument on recycling of ships with a view to providing legally binding and globally applicable ship recycling regulations for international shipping and for recycling facilities. MEPC 53 also agreed that the new IMO instrument on ship recycling should include regulations for the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships so as to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships; the operation of ship recycling facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner; and the establishment of an appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling (certification/reporting requirements). MEPC 53 further agreed that the above-mentioned instrument should be completed in time for its consideration and adoption in the biennium 2008-2009.