The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), along with Bangladesh, India, Norway, Pakistan, and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), has submitted a document for the 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for 18-22 March 2024, and the document emphasizes the need of resolving any conflicts between the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention, which might have serious ramifications for shipowners, ship recycling facilities, and ships if not resolved.
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention) will enter into force on 26 June 2025.
BIMCO and the paper’s co-signatories request further legal clarity from the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) MEPC before it goes into effect.
This includes clarification and assurance 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).
BIMCO’s Secretary General & CEO, David Loosley, said: “The ratification of the Hong Kong Convention marks the beginning of a new era for the ship recycling industry. We must make sure that legal obstacles and conflicts between the two conventions governing the safe and sound recycling of ships do not limit the scope of this historic opportunity.”
In January, BIMCO revealed a strong demand for a streamlined, standardised Maritime Single Window (MSW) system.
More recently, the ICS submitted a detailed proposal to the IMO for a Zero Emission Shipping Fund (ZESF).
