The entry into force of an international recycling convention for shipping is one step away after backing from Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government today approved ratification of the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC).
The government’s approval will now require the signature of the foreign minister. It will then be placed in the government gazette within two days, after which the Shipping Ministry will send ratification to the International Maritime Organization.
The Bangladesh government approval means that the required recycling capacity to bring the HKC into force has now been reached. The HKC only needs one more major flag state to accede for the convention to be mandated.
It is understood one such flag state is poised to ratify the convention in the next few weeks.
Under the HKC shipowners must recycle their end-of-life vessels at shipyards which reach the convention’s standards.
Mohammed Zahirul Islam, vice president of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers & Recyclers Association and managing director of PHP Ship Breaking & Recycling Industries, said: “This is extremely positive news for the HKC. It completes the recycling part. Now all we need is a major flag state such as Panama, Liberia or the Marshall Islands to ratify from the tonnage side.
“Ship recycling facilities in Bangladesh are upgrading to meet HKC requirements. Three have been certified as compliant, and eight are in the process of getting certified. After ratification, we will have two years for all yards to upgrade. We have enough time.”
There are currently 125 recycling yards registered with the Bangladesh Ship Breakers & Recyclers Association, of which around 30 are currently active.
PHP, SN Corp and Kabir Ship Recycling Facilities are certified as being HKC compliant.
Zahirul’s PHP was the first HKC-compliant yard in Bangladesh, getting its certification in 2017.
Bangladesh started to move towards ratifying the convention after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed met with her Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo in May.
That was followed by an industry delegation visit to Bangladesh recyclers.
“Today’s approval sends a strong message that the Government of Bangladesh takes green recycling seriously, and the whole country is moving towards sustainability. It will also give a major boost of confidence to shipowners looking for green ship recycling that HKC-compliant recycling facilities in Chattogram are able to meet the required standards,” said Zahirul.
“The Norwegian government and its embassy in Bangladesh played a strong role in helping us achieve this through their Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh project, which was executed through the IMO,” he added.
