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Maritime CSR » Enviroment & Climate » Ship recycling

European Commission - Ship dismantling

Worldwide, between 200 and 600 large end-of-life ships are broken up and recycled every year, as their steel, other scrap metal and equipment constitute valuable raw materials. Most of this ship dismantling nowadays takes place in South Asia, on tidal beaches and under primitive conditions. While the industry provides thousands of jobs for migrant workers, a lack of environmental protection and safety measures leads to high accident rates, health risks and extensive pollution of coastal areas. Older ships contain many hazardous materials, including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tributyl tin and large quantities of oils and oil sludge.
As many ships sail under the flag of an EU member state, and even more are owned by European companies, the situation is of concern to the EU. Community legislation is affected in so far as it prohibits the export of hazardous waste to developing countries.
This webpage gives information about the problem and the activities at international and EU level to improve the conditions of ship dismantling.

ISO - Ship Recycling

ISO standard to increase confidence in ship recycling certification
An ISO standard for bodies providing audit and certification of ship recycling management systems, will increase the safety of workers and environmental protection by facilitating independent recognition of good practice.
ISO 30005:2012 Ships and marine technology -- Ship recycling management systems -- Information control for hazardous materials in the manufacturing chain of shipbuilding and ship operations

IMO - Recycling of ships

The development of the Hong Kong Convention
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (the Hong Kong Convention), was adopted at a diplomatic conference held in Hong Kong, China, from 11 to 15 May 2009, which was attended by delegates from 63 countries. The Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment.