Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore urged the shipping industry to adopt higher standards in ship recycling. For this reason, BVS provides insight into the challenges of meeting ship recycling requirements, as well ten tips to achieve compliance.
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform issued its Q3 2019 results noting that there were a total of 122 ships broken, out of which 73 were sold to the beaches of South Asia for dirty and dangerous breaking.
The NGO’s report for Q2 revealed that 193 ships were dismantled and the 146 of these were sold to South Asian scrapping beaches.
According to the report, between July and August, 11 workers lost their lives, whereas 20 were severely injured when breaking ships in Bangladesh and India.
Up to now, the NGO has recorded 19 deaths and 30 severe injuries in South Asia.
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Speaking at a Bureau Veritas briefing during London International Shipping Week, BVS provided insight into the challenges of compliance with IHM (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) and ship recycling requirements, as well as the benefits of a transparent approach to meet their obligations and support best practice.
Namely, Paul Shrieve, Bureau Veritas President, President, Bureau Veritas Solutions, underlined that:
“Ten years on from the Hong Kong Convention, we have undoubtedly seen improvements in standards at recycling yards across the world, even ahead of its entry in force. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation has also accelerated improvements in a way that is very welcome. Nevertheless, these are not straightforward pieces of legislation. The requirement for EU flagged newbuilds and, from 31 December 2020, existing vessels, to have an IHM and a Statement of Compliance raises considerable challenges for owners. These challenges are becoming pressing, with Port State Control already enforcing IHM and end-of-life requirements.”
Considering these challenges, and in order to help the shipping industry address them, BVS created 10 best tips in order to ensure that companies follow proper IHM and recycling policies:
- Fleet-wide planning: understand the timetable for your ships;
- Fleet-wide planning (2): understand the implications for your ships;
- Understand the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM): what is it and what does it require?
- Understand the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (2): difference between requirements for EU and non-EU flagged ships;
- Budget for sampling: can you prove what you have on board?
- Develop and maintain the IHM during operations: use BV Solution’s Praxis software tool;
- Recycling decisions: understand benefits and risks;
- Recycling decisions (2): follow industry best practice;
- Develop and publish your ship recycling policy;
- Seek expert advice.
