Tag: Hong Kong Convention

The Board of Directors of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - the principal international trade association for shipowners, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet - met in London on February 5, 2013.Issues considered by ICS members included:frustration with the failure of Italy to submit a full maritime casualty report to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) following the 'Costa Concordia' cruise ship tragedy which occurred over a year ago; the continuing discussions at IMO and elsewhere on the best means of achieving further carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction from ships; and serious concerns that the IMO Convention on Ship Recycling, adopted to improve standards throughout the world's ship recycling yards, is in danger of being undermined by regional measures being discussed by the European Union. ICS Commits to CO2 MRVThe ICS Board reviewed recent developments with respect to the international regulation of CO2 emissions from ships. This included proposals by the United States and the European Commission, and others, concerning the establishment of a mandatory system of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of emissions (known as 'MRV').ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, explained: "Our meeting agreed that ICS will fully support the concept of MRV, provided ...

Ship recycling issues discussed during MEPC 64

10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention At the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, in an effort to prevent toxic ships from being dumped on the beaches of developing countries, African nations declared that they wanted the Basel Convention to retain its competency over end-of-life ships and reinvigorate the Basel Convention's work in this regard.Developing nations, legal experts and NGOs that attended the meeting all voiced the concern that the International Maritime Organization's Hong Kong Convention will not stop hazardous wastes such as asbestos, PCBs, residue oils and heavy metals from being exported to the poorest communities and most desperate workers in developing counties.The Hong Kong Convention, which was adopted in 2009, but has not yet been ratified by a single country, has no intention of minimizing the movement of toxic ships to developing countries.Currently the 1989 Basel Convention is the only legal instrument on transboundary movements of waste, and the only legal tool developing countries can successfully use to stop toxic ships from entering their territorial waters.Liabilities not on the polluterThe developing countries' statement was supported by the Basel Action Network and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of labor rights and ...