Hong Kong Convention

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships addresses what happens to a ship at the very end of its working life. When ships are scrapped, they contain hazardous materials built into their structure and equipment (such as asbestos, heavy metals, oils and ozone-depleting substances) and much of the world's ship recycling has historically taken place on beaches in South Asia in conditions that could be dangerous to the workers dismantling the vessels and harmful to the surrounding environment. The convention, adopted by the IMO, sets out to make ship recycling safe and environmentally sound from the design of the ship through to its final dismantling.

The convention works along the whole life of a ship. New ships are to be built and maintained with an Inventory of Hazardous Materials, a document that identifies where hazardous substances are located aboard, so that when the time comes those breaking the ship know what they are dealing with and can manage it safely. Existing ships are also required to develop such an inventory. Ship recycling facilities, for their part, must be authorised and must operate according to a ship recycling plan and to standards that protect worker safety and the environment, with proper management of the hazardous materials removed. Before recycling, a ship is surveyed and certified as ready.

The intent is to raise standards across the recycling industry so that ships can reach the end of their lives without the human and environmental cost that has too often accompanied scrapping, while recognising the value of recycling the large quantities of steel and equipment that ships contain. Parallel and sometimes stricter regional rules, such as those of the European Union, also govern ship recycling. Together with the pollution controls of MARPOL and the safety framework of SOLAS, the Hong Kong Convention completes the regulatory coverage of a ship's whole existence, from construction through operation to responsible dismantling.