Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (RBSA) welcome the accession by the Government of India to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, also known as the HKC.
Yesterday (November 28), India became the 15th Party State to the HKC, fulfilling at once one of the three criteria for the Convention’s entry into force.
It is another significant step towards achieving more safe and environmentally sound ship recycling globally, as India is a major ship-recycling centre that can provide the international shipping industry with sufficient recycling capacity.
In 2018, India received more than 250 vessels, counting for 4.7 five million gross tonnes, according to IHS Global Ldt, World Casualty Statistics. The Hong Kong Convention already proves to be a true game-changer on the ground.
“There is no doubt now that the HKC will ensure that earlier substandard ship recycling practices are banned, and this to the benefit of people working in the industry and the marine environment” said Wilfried Lemmens, Managing Director of RBSA.
The fact that India has acceded to the HKC, and that many Indian facilities are already compliant with the HKC, shows that they are very committed to raise the ship-recycling standards.
“We have witnessed these positive developments over the years ourselves, during our fact finding visits to India, Alang. And we call upon the EU institutions now to support Indian and other facilities worldwide so they meet the EU requirements as soon as possible,” Lemmens added.