Pakistan could potentially begin the ratification process for the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, a move that if completed will result in the convention being adopted by all top four ship recycling nations.
Asif Khan, vice president of the Pakistan Ship Breakers’ Association (PSBA) told delegates at the Tradewinds Ship Recycling Forum held in Dubai on Tuesday that the Pakistani government, through the Ministry of Maritime affairs, has, together with the PSBA, decided, in principle, to proceed with the signing and ratification of the Hong Kong Convention.
“This is a great moment in the history of the Pakistan ship breaking industry,” Khan said to resounding applause from the packed ballroom of the Sofitel Dubai Downtown Hotel.
“It also shows our solid commitment that in spite of our meagre resources and several issues and problems on the ground, we are serious to upgrade ourselves to comply with all the national and international standards on human health, safety of workers, and safety of the environment.”
Khan said the internal process for the ratification is expected to start within the next two to three months.
“This process will probably be completed in the next few months on a top-priority basis.”
No Pakistani ship recycling facilities are currently certified as being compliant with the Hong Kong Convention, and Khan said that lease holders of plots at Gadani Beach still need to upgrade their facilities with impermeable flooring for oily blocks.
Khan cautioned that order to install impermeable flooring, recyclers still need to get approval from the feudal landlords, which he admitted was a tough undertaking, but he expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved.
India and Turkey became the first major ship recycling nations to ratify the Hong Kong Convention, signing up in 2019.
That move, said Haresh Parmar, secretary of India’s Ship Recycling Industries Association, led to the major upgrading of ship recycling facilities at Alang but at the same time put Indian yards at a price disadvantage to their competitors in India and Bangladesh due to the higher costs of recycling a vessel according to the requirements of the convention.
Bangladesh began the ratification process several years ago, but according to Mohammed Zahirul Islam, vice president of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, the process was delayed by two years due to the pandemic.
“We lost two years due to Covid, but hopefully we will be ready in 2023”, Islam said.
Both Parmar and Islam said they welcomed Pakistan’s possible ratification as it would level the playing between Hong Kong Convention-certified yards and non-certified yard.
Parmar lamented that it cost on average $10m to upgrade a recycling facility at Alang, but shipowners more interested in getting the highest possible price from non-certified yards in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which have lower capex and operating costs.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs has expressed a broader commitment to green shipping, but it has yet to officially announce its intention to ratify the Hong Kong Convention.
