Following calls from BIMCO, Bangladesh, India, Norway, Pakistan, and the ICS, IMO has issued guidance regarding the implementation of the Hong Kong and Basel Conventions.
However, according to BIMCO, there is a need for more legal certainty on the application of the Hong Kong Convention before entry into force in June 2025. Specifically, that there is clarification and assurance that that shipowners and parties operating in compliance with the Hong Kong Convention will not be sanctioned as a violation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the Basel Convention).
The publication of the provisional guidance on the implementation of the Hong Kong and Basel Conventions with respect to the transboundary movement of ships intended for recycling provides some Guidance to member states on the application of the Conventions as follows:
- States that are Parties to the Hong Kong Convention but are not Parties to the Basel Convention should apply the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention
- States that are Parties to the Basel Convention but are not Parties to the Hong Kong Convention should apply the requirements of the Basel Convention, including its Ban Amendment, if they have expressed their consent to be bound by it
- States that are Parties to both the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention, including Parties that have expressed their consent to be bound by the Ban Amendment, with an understanding that the provisions of the Basel Convention should not affect the transboundary movements that take place pursuant to the Hong Kong Convention.
However, BIMCO finds that it should be noted that the as the Basel Convention has 191 signatories and all the current signatories to the HKC are parties to the Basel Convention, the first situation is almost impossible.
Hong Kong VS Basel: Understanding the differences
Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention):
- In late June 2023, a historic moment for the maritime industry took place as the Bangladesh and Liberia ratified the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention, HKC), thus allowing it to enter into force. The HKC will become effective on 26th of June 2025.
- The Hong Kong Convention aims to ensure the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, particularly addressing the environmental and occupational health and safety issues associated with ship recycling.
- It specifically targets the recycling of ships and outlines guidelines and standards for ship recycling facilities to minimize the impact on human health and the environment.
- The convention establishes requirements for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of ship recycling facilities. It also includes provisions related to the management of hazardous materials on ships and the development of a Ship Recycling Plan.
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention):
- The Basel Convention seeks to control and minimize the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and ensure their environmentally sound management and disposal.
- It covers a broader range of hazardous wastes, not limited to ships. The Basel Convention applies to the movement of hazardous wastes across national borders, with the goal of reducing the generation of hazardous wastes and promoting environmentally sound management practices.
- The convention establishes a framework for the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, including the requirement for prior informed consent from the importing country, the establishment of appropriate disposal facilities, and the promotion of waste minimization and recycling.
- The convention was adopted on March 22, 1989, in Basel, Switzerland, and entered into force on May 5, 1992.
While both the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention address environmental concerns related to waste, they focus on different types of waste and have distinct objectives.
The Hong Kong Convention specifically targets ship recycling, while the Basel Convention addresses the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous wastes in a broader context.
Crucially the Guidance also request member states which fall in the third category to let the Basel Secretariat know that they will apply the Hong Kong Convention’s requirements in respect of transboundary movements of ships intended to be recycled at a ship recycling facility that has been authorised in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention and is situated under the jurisdiction of a Party to the Hong Kong Convention.
They are also asked to confirm that relevant arrangements have been made to ensure environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes (arising from ship recycling) as required by the Basel Convention and that, consequently, the provisions of the Basel Convention shall not affect transboundary movements which take place pursuant to the Hong Kong Convention.
Whilst this is a significant and positive step the need to bring the issue to the attention of relevant meetings under the Basel Convention still exists. The provisional guidance by the IMO will not resolve the fact there is still a patchwork of different regulations that can cause contradicting requirements being put on one and the same ship.
BIMCO will therefore continue to work with member states to the IMO and the Basel Convention to enable a global regulatory framework that allows for ships being send for safe and environmentally sound recycling. regardless of where this is taking place.
