European Union agrees ship recycling rules

With the Irish government currently holding the presidency of Europe, speaking yesterday (June 27), Irelands minister for the environment, Phil Hogan welcomed the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and heralded it as an important instrument to achieve the safe and environmentally sound recycling of EU ships at end-of-life.

The new regulation, said the Commission, will establish a list of EU approved ship recycling facilities requiring high standards to ensure that EU flagged ships are properly recycled and that waste materials contained in the ships are properly managed throughout the recycling process, preventing negative environmental impacts while also safeguarding the health of workers in the facilities.

The EU regulation is the first legislative instrument adopted at a regional level in respect of the ship waste stream.

Mr Hogan said: Up to now, EU ships have generally been dismantled and recycled at sub-standard sites operating to low standards in third countries. From the date of application of this regulation, this practice will now have to cease in respect of EU-flagged ships. Ships will instead have to be properly recycled in approved facilities operating to high environmental and worker safety standards.

Global

The minister continued: I am confident that the new regulation will be effective and make a positive contribution to the proper recycling of EU ships which can be followed globally.
I would also hope that this new EU regulation will act as an important stimulus to facilitate the early ratification of the Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling which was adopted in 2009 and that, on foot of this EU initiative, other global regions will follow the EU lead in respect of this important waste stream added the Minister.

The agreement reached concludes six months of intensive negotiations under the Irish EU Presidency and the minister thanked the European Parliament Rapporteur, Carl Schlyter for his constructive engagement.

Now, Europe is hoping that its agreement may be taken up on a global basis in other regions.

Ships are known to generally have a significant financial value at end-of-life with steel the main material extracted in the recycling process. But the vessels also contain hazardous substances including asbestos, heavy metals and PCBs.

The new EU ship recycling regime comprises the following main elements:

• EU ship owners will be required to only recycle ships at facilities on the EU approved list, either in the EU or in third countries;
• in order to be on the EU approved list, ship recycling facilities must comply with the minimum requirements of the regulation as to worker health and safety procedures and environmental protection;
• ship recycling facilities shall be approved by national authorities in the case of EU facilities and by independent verifiers with appropriate qualifications in the case of non-EU facilities. Such non-EU facilities shall remain open to inspection by EU inspectors in order to verify their ongoing compliance with the requirements of the regulation;
• ships will be required to maintain an inventory of hazardous materials on board at all times;
• ships entering EU ports will be open to inspections by port state control authorities to verify the maintenance of the inventory;
• EU ships will be subject to surveys at 5-yearly intervals after being put in service;
• owners of EU ships will be required to engage an approved ship recycling facility to prepare a ship recycling plan prior to recycling, such plan to include how hazardous materials in the ship structure are to be managed and which shall be submitted to the flag state administration;
• flag state administrations shall issue a ready for recycling certificate before authorising the recycling of EU ships, having – (i) verified that the hazardous materials inventory has been properly maintained, (ii) approved the ship recycling plan, and (iii) verified that the ship recycling facility where the ship is to be recycled is included in the EU approved list;
• the ship recycling facility shall confirm the completion of the recycling of the ship to the EU flag state administration.