The Netherlands has become the eighth country to ratify the Hong Kong Convention, the treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling, IMO announced. Mr. Dick Brus, Directorate for Maritime Affairs of the Netherlands, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, in London, on 20 February, to deposit the instrument of acceptance.
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (2009) covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.
Under the treaty, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a “Ship Recycling Plan”, specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory.
The news come a few days after Turkey acceded to the Convention, setting a landmark as the fifth most major ship recycling country in the world.
The treaty will enter into force 24 months after ratification by 15 States, representing 40% of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, and a combined maximum annual ship recycling volume not less than 3% of their combined tonnage.
The seven first contracting States alone (Belgium, Congo, Denmark, France, Norway, Panama, Turkey) represent more than 20% of world merchant shipping tonnage and the combined annual ship recycling volume of the Contracting States during the preceding 10 years is 1,652,961 GT, i.e. 0.62% of the merchant shipping tonnage of the same States.
