Germany ratifies Ship Recycling Convention

In July 2019 Reinhard Klingen, head of the department Waterways and Shipping of the Federal Ministry for Traffic and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), presented the IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim with the instrument of accession. By depositing the instrument with the IMO, the binding accession of Germany to the Hong Kong Convention concludes.

Currently the Hong Kong Convention is not in force. For it to enter into force, 15 states with at least 40% of the world merchant shipping tonnage and not less than 3 % of the combined maximum annual ship recycling volume need to join. With Germany's ratification almost 30 % of the world merchant shipping tonnage has been reached. The 3%-criterion, however, can only be fulfilled if India or other countries with large shipbreaking yards like Bangladesh and Pakistan accede.

More than 32 % of ships worldwide get recycled in India. Over the last years, India has invested heavily in the improvement of its ship recycling infrastructure. Since then the IACS, International Association of Classification Societies, has confirmed that many of the ship recycling facilities now meet the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention.

In spite of Germany's recent ratification, the Hong Kong Convention is not yet applicable for ships flying the German flag. Only when the Hong Kong Convention has entered into force will it become fully effective.

In accordance with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2013), existing ships from 500 GT entering an EU port (outside of their own flag state) need to carry an approved inventory of hazardous materials at the latest on 31 December 2020. Surveys confirm the inventory of hazardous materials on a regular basis. A certificate stating that the ship is ready for recycling is required before the ship enters, as is required, one of the recycling facilities on the European List (last updated 18 June 2019). New ships must already comply with the requirements.