Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION requiring Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, in the interests of the European Union
Date: 2012-03-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, Hong Kong, accession to an agreement, environmental standard, export of waste, hazardous waste, international convention, vessel, waste recycling

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.3.2012  
COM(2012) 120 final 

2012/0056 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

requiring Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International 
Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, in the 
interests of the European Union 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The development and continuation of unsound and unsafe practices of ship dismantling is a 
matter of serious concern. At the end of their operating life, most of the large commercial sea-
going vessels are still dismantled in substandard facilities located in Asia (India, Pakistan and 
Bangladesh),  usually  through  "beaching"  method  and  with  significant  environmental  and 
health impacts.  

The situation is expected to worsen since large numbers of ships are expected to be sent for 
dismantling  in  the  coming  years  as  a  result  of  an  overcapacity  of  the  world  fleet  which  is 
estimated to remain for at least 5 to 10 years. In addition, the coming peak in ship recycling 
around  the  phasing-out  date  for  single-hull  tankers  (2015)  is  expected  to  essentially  benefit 
the most sub-standard facilities. 

The current legislation1 at international and European levels has proven ineffective to put an 
end to these ship recycling practices.  

The current widespread non-compliance is linked: 

• 

• 

• 

with  the  lack  of  recycling  capacity  available  within  the  OECD  in  particular  for  the 
largest commercial ships,  

the  fierce  and  unfair  competition  between  the  substandard  facilities  and  other 
facilities  with  higher  technical  standards  which  are  only  able  to  occupy  market 
niches for  special  types  of  ships like  small  ships and  government  vessels including 
warships or the fleet of committed shipowners), 

the  fact  that  the  current  legislation  is  not  adapted  to  the  specificities  of  ships  and 
international shipping.  

In  order  to  improve  the  situation,  Parties  to  the  Basel  Convention  invited,  in  2004,  the 
International  Maritime  Organization  (IMO)  to  develop  mandatory  requirements  for  ship 
recycling2.  
The Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Sound Recycling of Ships (thereafter refered to 
as  the  Hong  Kong  Convention)  was  adopted  in  May  2009  by  the  International  Maritime 
Organization. It needs to be ratified by  a sufficient number  of both large flag and recycling 
states in order to enter into force and start producing effects.  
The  European  Union  and  its  Member  States  has  compared  the  levels  of  controls  and 
enforcement  provided  by  the  Hong  Kong  and  the  Basel  Conventions  in  their  entirety.  The 
conclusion reached in April 2010 was that "as a preliminary assessment and taking a life cycle 
perspective, it can therefore be concluded that the Hong Kong Convention appears to provide 
a  level  of  control  and  enforcement  at  least  equivalent  to  that  one  provided  by  the  Basel 
Convention for ships which are waste under the Basel Convention and for ships to which the 

1 

2 

The Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on 
shipments  of  waste  at  European  level  and  the  Basel  Convention  on  the  Control  of  Transboundary 
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal at international level.  
Decision VII/26 on the Environmentally sound management of ship dismantling adopted during the 7th 
Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention. 

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Hong Kong Convention applies and to ships treated similarly pursuant to article 3(4) of this 
latter Convention".3 

In  October  2011,  Parties  to  the  Basel  Convention  encouraged  the  ratification  of  the  Hong 
Kong Convention to enable its entry into force4.  

At European level, the Commission adopted a Green Paper on better ship dismantling in 2007 
and a Communication proposing an EU strategy on ship dismantling5 in 2008. This strategy 
proposed measures to improve ship dismantling conditions as soon as possible, including in 
the interim period before the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention6: i.e. preparing 
the  establishment  of  measures  on  key  elements  of  the  Convention,  encouraging  voluntary 
industry action, providing technical assistance and support to developing countries and better 
enforcing the current legislation.  

In its conclusions on the EU strategy on ship recycling, the Council endorsed the Hong Kong 
Convention,  underlining  that  it  represented  a  major  achievement  for  the  international 
community,  provided  a  comprehensive  system  of  control  and  enforcement  from  "cradle  to 
grave" and strongly encouraged Member States to ratify the Convention as a matter of priority 
so as to facilitate its entry into force as early as possible and to generate a real and effective 
change on the ground7. 

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7 

the 

and 

from 

its  Member 

European  Union 

Submission 
http://archive.basel.int/ships/oewg-vii12-comments/comments/eu.doc  
Decision X/ AA on the environmentally sound dismantling of ships adopted during the 10th conference 
of the Parties to the Basel Convention 
Communication COM (2008) 767 final of 19 November 2008 presenting an "EU strategy for better ship 
dismantling, and its impact assessment in Commission Staff Working Document SEC(2008) 2846 
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships  
Conclusions 
at 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/envir/110626.pdf . 

21  October 

available 

available 

adopted 

Council 

States 

2009 

the 

on 

by 

at 

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2012/0056 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

requiring Member States to ratify or to accede to the Hong Kong International 
Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, in the 
interests of the European Union 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 192(1), in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) and the first subparagraph of Article 
218(8) thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Ships  which  are  waste  are  subject  to  the  Basel  Convention  on  Transboundary 
Movements  of  Hazardous  Wastes  and  their  Disposal  at  international  level.  At 
European  level,  these  ships  are  subject  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  1013/2006  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipment of waste8. That 
Regulation  implements  the  Basel  Convention  as  well  as  an  amendment9  to  the 
Convention  adopted  in  1995,  which  has  not  yet  entered  into  force,  and  which 
establishes  a  ban  on  exports  of  hazardous  waste  from  Union  Member  States  to 
countries  that  are  not  members  of  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-operation  and 
Development  (OECD).  Since  ships  contain  hazardous  materials,  they  are  generally 
classified  as  hazardous  waste  and  are  therefore  prohibited  from  being  exported  for 
recycling in facilities in countries not members of the OECD.  

Significant  difficulties  have  been  faced  at  international  and  European  levels  when 
trying to apply the existing legislation to ships.  

The  Hong  Kong  International  Convention  for  the  Safe  and  Environmentally  Sound 
Recycling of Ships, 2009 (hereinafter 'the Convention') , was adopted on 15 May 2009 
under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a result of the 
deliberations of the International Conference on the Safe and Environmentally Sound 
Recycling of Ships10. 

8 
9 

10 

OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1. 
Amendment to the Basel Convention ('Ban amendment') adopted by Decision III/1 of the Parties to the 
Basel Convention.  
Final Act of the Conference (SR/CONF/45). 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

The Convention aims at ensuring that ships, when being dismantled after reaching the 
end of their operational live, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health and 
safety  and  to  the  environment.  The  Convention  addresses  the  issues  around  ship 
dismantling  in  their  entirety  as  well  as  concerns  raised  about  the  working  and 
environmental conditions at many of the ship dismantling locations around the world. 

The  environmentally  sound  management  of  ship  dismantling  is  a  priority  for  the 
European  Union11 and  the early implementation  of the  Convention is one  of the key 
actions proposed in the Communication of the Commission 'An EU Strategy for better 
ship dismantling'12. 

However, so far none of the Member States has ratified the Convention or acceded to 
it  and  only  three  Member  States  have  signed  it.  Ratification  of  the  Convention  or 
accession  to  it  by  Member  States  would  carry  weight  in  the  international  arena  and 
would speed up the entry into force of the Convention. 

(7) 

Some provisions of the Convention fall within the exclusive competence of the Union 
as regards ship recycling.  

(8) 

The Union cannot ratify the Convention, as only States can be parties thereto. 

(9) 

The  Council  should  therefore  require  Member  States  to  ratify  the  Convention  or  to 
accede to it in the interests of the Union,  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Upon the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No XX of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  (on  ship  recycling)  to  implement  the  Hong  Kong  International  Convention  for  the 
Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, ('the Convention'), adopted on 15 May 
2009  under  the  auspices  of  the  International  Maritime  Organisation,  Member  States  shall 
ratify the Convention or accede to it for the parts falling under the exclusive competence of 
the Union. 

Article 2 

Member States shall take the necessary steps to deposit their instruments of ratification of the 
Convention  or  accession  to  it  with  the  Secretary-General  of  the  International  Maritime 
Organisation without delay, and in any case no later than three years from the date of entry 
into force of this Decision. 

The progress of the ratification or accession shall be reviewed no later than five years from 
the date of entry into force of this Decision. 

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Council Conclusions of 20 November 2006. 
COM(2008) 767 final. 

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Article 3 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.  

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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