11 Apr 2022
Singapore

Press Release on the Joint Statement of the ASA SRC 25thInterim Meeting 2022 held 21 - 28 March 2022
The 25th Interim Meeting of the ASA Ship Recycling Committee,
presided over by Mr. Ron Huang, Chairman of the ASA SRC, was held
via e-mail from 21 to 28 March 2022. The SRC members are firmly
committed to ensuring full compliance with all applicable competition
laws throughout the entire programme.
Ship Recycling Trend
Since there has been an increasing global demand for shipping, theresult of ship recycling volume in 2021 did not grow as expected andwas 24.3 million DWT, and the year 2022 is expected to be about thesame as 2021. However, according to Clarksons Research, 2023 is
projected to reach 45.5 million DWT due to the impact of more stringent
environmental regulations and wider “green” pressure, which
accelerates many of the aged ships to be recycled. The ASA SRC
reconfirmed that there is an urgent need to develop SOC certified yards
in MULTIPLE countries as possible receivers of the above-mentioned
future strong demand as well as for reducing risks when a pandemic like
Covid-19 emerges.
Hong Kong Convention (HKC)
Although the number of shipowners aiming for environmentally friendly
ship recycling is increasing, there are still many of them who are lessinterested in this issue. Based on this situation, the ASA SRC reaffirmed the recognition that the HKC coming into force will be essential
to mind-reset by mandatory international rule. This year will be an
extremely important year for satisfying the requirements for early entry
into force of the HKC.

1The ASA SRC re-affirmed that China and Bangladesh hold the key forthe early enactment of the HKC and the adopted-below Action Plans inorder to achieve early entry into force of the convention:
1. PRIORITY RELEASE of VESSELS to GREEN YARDS– INDIA continue to be the CORE of green recycling, necessary to upgrade yards in BANGLADESH
We further promote and strengthen the ASA SRC’s standing policy ofensuring priority usage of HKC-certified yards and yards in the process of obtaining
certification. India continues and is expected to be the core of green

recycling, and it would be especially be great if India’s successful
experience in accelerating the growth of HKC green yards by motivationfrom shipowners could also be seen in Bangladesh. This will lead to theimprovement of the environment for ratifying the HKC by the first quarterof 2023 declared by the Bangladesh government. The ASA SRC has aplan to dispatch a delegation from the ASA SRC to Bangladesh topromote dialogue with the stakeholders (ship recyclers and concerned
government officials).

2. ENSURING EARLY RATIFICATION by CHINA in 2022
China is the only country who holds the trigger in 2022 for the early
fulfilment of the HKC’s requirements, and we will raise our voices until
the precious value of ratification by China is achieved. We hope that
China will proceed with ratifying the convention within this year as aleader for sustaining global environmental conservation.

23. The ASA SRC is FIRMLY COMMITTED to CONTRIBUTING to
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION by PROMOTINGENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SHIP RECYCLING---------For media enquiries, kindly contact:
Dylan Ow
Technical Manager
Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA)
Tel : (+65) 6325 4737
Email : information@asa.org.sg
Website : www.asianshipowners.org
Editor’s Note:
The Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) is a voluntary organization of the shipowner associations of Australia,China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Associations
comprising shipping associations of ASEAN countries. The aims of the ASA are to promote the interests of Asianshipowners. Between annual ASA meetings, the ongoing work is carried out by five Standing Committees: TheSeafarers Committee (SC), the Ship Insurance and Liability Committee (SILC), the Safe Navigation andEnvironment Committee (SNEC), the Shipping Policy Committee (SPC), and the Ship Recycling Committee (SRC).
It has been estimated that ASA shipowners and managers control and operate around 50% of the world's cargo
carrying fleet.

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