It will be based largely on the implementation of the IMOs Hong Kong Convention
In an announcement at the TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum in Singapore last week, the European Commission’s Ms. Soledad Blanco announced that it has finalised its regulation to implement European ship recycling regulations, which would be based largely on the implementation of the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention (on Ship Recycling).
The announcement came at the opening of a panel discussion on the legal aspects related to ship recycling. Blanco explained that the Commission would present the regulation to the Parliament in May and, once approved, it would enter into force around 2013 or 2014.
The principle of the regulation would be to enact the Hong Kong Convention in Europe. This would mean 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.
It is worth mentioning that so far European Commission was discussing the implementation of the Basel Convention and its possible application to ships, however such a development rules out all these developments. This definitely puts an end to the ongoing debate about the applicability of the Basel Convention to Ship Recycling and allows EU Operators to focus on the Hong Kong Convention as the sole instrument governing ships and ship recycling.
The final document from the Commission is due to be released imminently.
Source : Safety4Sea