During a visit to Bangladesh by Norwegian authorities, the Norwegian Shipping Association, the European Community Shipowners’ Association, the International Chamber of Shipping and BIMCO, between 8-11 May 2023, the Bangladesh Government confirmed that the country will ratify the Hong Kong Convention.
According to BIMCO, Bangladesh is now expected to ratify the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, commonly known as the Hong Kong Convention, in the next few weeks.
With the Hong Kong Convention entering into force, focus can increasingly turn to the much-needed global recycling capacity at yards complying with universal standards, BIMCO highlighted.
BIMCO is delighted that Bangladesh has confirmed their commitment to ratifying the Convention in the very near future. The need for compliant facilities from the main recycling states such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is critical due to the large number of ships expected to be recycled over the next 10 years
…said BIMCO’s Secretary General and CEO, David Loosley
Several shipyards in the main recycling states have made significant efforts towards upgrading their facilities. BIMCO has previously called for the Convention to enter into force, and for yards already meeting the standards of the Hong Kong Convention to be added to the EU list of approved yards, as there are currently none outside of the EU on the list.
The ship recycling industry provides thousands of jobs, and the steel is re-used, but it must comply with international safety and environmental regulations, and ship owners must choose to recycle at compliant yards only, to ensure that it is done safely
…David Loosley added.
In this week’s BIMCO Shipping Number of the Week, Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst, stated that the number of recycled vessels will double over the next decade. According to Niels Rasmussen, over the next ten years, from 2023 to 2032, more than 15,000 ships with deadweight capacity of more than 600 million tons are expected to be recycled,
To remind, during her recent visit to Japan, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her intention to make efforts towards the early accession to the Hong Kong Convention which was met with support from Japanese Prime Minister Kishida. Portugal was the latest country to accede to the Hong Kong Convention. Until today, 20 Contracting States have ratified the Convention, representing 30.16% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping.
