Shipowner organisation BIMCO sees recycling as a vital component in the journey to decarbonisation and sustainability, which it is why it has launched a new industry film, calling for the urgent adoption of the Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, and for ship owners to only choose yards that live up to the convention.
The film, Ship Recycling: Time for Change, is partly filmed at ship recycling yards in Alang, India, one of the largest ship recycling nations in the world together with Bangladesh. The film aims to raise awareness among global regulators, ship owners, and the public of the vast potential for the ship recycling industry to add to a sustainable global circular economy if done safely.
BIMCO Secretary General and CEO, David Loosley said: “The numbers speak for themselves. The raw scrap steel from ship recycling feeds around 350 re-rolling mills that supply approximately 50% of the annual steel consumption in Bangladesh alone, and the industry creates thousands of jobs for people providing for their families. But ship recycling has for too long been unsafe for workers and the environment at yards that do not live up to the standards of the Hong Kong Convention. It is time for change and for ship recycling to be done the right way.”
During a visit to Chattogram and Dhaka in Bangladesh in early May by BIMCO and other industry organisations to discuss the benefits of ratifying the Hong Kong Convention, Bangladesh confirmed its commitment to ratify this year, allowing the convention to enter into force. According to BIMCO estimates, more than 15,000 ships will be recycled over the next 10 years, a more than 100% rise compared with the last decade, partly due to stricter greenhouse gas regulations facing the shipping industry.
Loosley said: “This year, there is a window of opportunity for the Hong Kong Convention to enter into force which could positively change the face of the recycling industry forever – we must take it.”
