Shiprec 2013

Summary: Ship recycling is undoubtedly the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of ships reaching the end of their operational lives. Almost all the material on board the ship can be recycled, reused or refurbished. The recycling market and its processes are affected by the overall socio-economic aspects of shipping. The ship recycling, breaking, dismantling, demolition or scrapping industry is mainly led by five countries which process around 97% of the world’s tonnage. For some nations, the recycled products form an essential part of the local and national economy. Despite its indisputable benefits, ship recycling faces numerous challenges and public awareness has grown about the environmental, safety and health problems in this area. So, the working conditions and the environmental impact of recycling processes are under scrutiny.With the rising international awareness on environment and ship recycling issues, international bodies such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) particularly through the Basel Convention (BC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have developed guidelines and created a joint working group to address the issue. The year 2009 marked another phase because the IMO adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention). The Convention has become the main international instrument intending to regulate this industry. The Hong Kong Convention affects ship recycling facilities; shipowners and shipbuilders as well as State regulations on the topic.Soon, the key players in the recycling process will have to comply with stringent regulations. While not yet entered into force, the adoption of the Convention already impacts the ship recycling markets as well as national regulations in the main recycling countries. In parallel, the shipping industry tends to absorb the expected consequences of the Convention. Therefore, it is expected that people from Governing Bodies, Administrations, Shipowners’ community, Ship recycling industry, Shipbuilding yards, Classification Societies, Non-Governmental Organizations, Universities and Research Institutes will participate in the Conference. Participants from all over the world will be given the opportunity to share knowledge and exchange the latest information and innovative ideas.

Website: http://wmu.se/events/shiprec-2013

Organiser: World Maritime University

Telephone: +46 40 35 63 43

Email: shiprec2013@wmu.se