The international shipping organisation Bimco, which is mainly supported by shipowners and ship managers, has launched a ship recycling alliance. Its aim is to help accelerate the safe and environmentally friendly recycling of ships.
The alliance aims to coordinate the voices of the ship recycling sector and the shipping industry and help facilitate the global implementation of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC).
The HKC will come into force in June 2025. This comes at a time when it is estimated that more than 15,000 ships will be recycled in the next ten years and the need for compliant shipyards in key recycling countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is high. “Today, only a minority of shipowners opt for voluntary HKC-compliant recycling. It is, therefore, crucial that industry voices are coordinated,” said Bimco.
Bimco gathers Asian breakers
The founding members of the alliance include Bimco, Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), Turkish Ship Recycling Industry Association (GEMISANDER), Cassh Buyer GMS, ship recycling company Guideship, Pakistan Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (PSBRA), Ship Recycling Industries Association of India (SRIA), International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA), cash buyer Wirana and Indian ship recycling group Bansal Group.
Members can include representatives from ship recycling associations, individual ship recycling facilities, cash buyers, financial institutions and shipowners.
“Part of the ship recycling industry is already trying to comply with the HKC standards before they come into force. If we are to ensure that our ships are recycled responsibly and safely for people and the environment, all stakeholders need to engage and step up the pace. The Ship Recycling Alliance will bring stakeholders together, advise regulators and raise public awareness,” said David Loosley, Secretary General and CEO of the Copenhagen-based organisation.
An important task is, therefore, to cooperate with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (BC) and the states that belong to these organisations in order to create legal clarity about the interaction between the two conventions.
This includes evaluating and considering proposals for future amendments to the HKC and assisting in the implementation and enforcement of the requirements of the Basel Convention for the management of waste from the ship recycling process.
“Representing the views of the recycling industry”
“It is high time that an initiative like the Ship Recycling Alliance is launched and gets to work. We need an alliance that formulates and represents the views of the international ship recycling industry and connects them with all other stakeholders involved. We firmly believe that this is how we can move forward and drive progress,” says Dr. Nikos Mikelis, Non-Executive Director of GMS, former IMO Head of Marine Pollution Prevention and Ship Recycling, Marine Environment Division and Chairman of the Alliance.
Bimco describes itself as the world’s largest international shipping association with 2,000 members in more than 130 countries, representing over 60% of the world’s tonnage. Members include ship owners, operators, managers, brokers and agents.
