China’s decision to ban the import of foreign-flag ships for scrapping could close some of the best recycling facilities in the world, says the International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA).
More than 2.4 million tons of high standard capacity will be removed from the global market, says ISRA, a platform for recyclers that promotes the environmentally sound and safe recycling of ships.
ISRA secretary general Bernard Veldhoven urges the Chinese government to review its announcement. The ban takes effect from the end of this year.
In China, ships are scrapped pier-side and not on beaches as in the Indian sub-continent.
ISRA says Chinese recycling facilities match requirements of the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention and the European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulation.
The European Commission, however, has so far included only European facilities on its approved list of ship recyclers.
Since the IMO started discussing ship recycling, a number of Chinese facilities have invested “enormously” in upgrading, says ISRA.
It said in a statement today: "China, as a fast developing country and shipbuilding nation, should in our opinion continue to take their producer responsibility to also continue to include ship recycling.”
Its scrapping methods reduced the total amount of waste, recovering reuseable materials in an environmentally sound manner.
The country had demonstrated that shiprecycling could be an environmentally sound and safe industry, says ISRA.
China's yards were a “prime example” to other recyclers around the world of the need to invest and improve.
The ban on non-Chinese-flag tonnage represents a major backward step, leaving responsible shipowners searching for alternative facilities with equal standards, says ISRA.
It warns this cannot be achieved quickly and could force owners to accept lower standards.
“This negative trend is hard for the industry to accept and understand,” said ISRA, which has campaigned against beaching practices.
