Ship Recycling
Workshop seeks to improve Pakistan's ability
to convert end-of-life ships into recyclable
materials and dispose of hazardous wastes
safely
Geneva, 16 July 2010
- Recycling the end-of-life ships is a major
industry that is a source of steel and other
recyclable items. While the industry provides
an important source of raw materials and
employment to the countries in which it
is based, there is concern about the environmental,
health and safety standards employed in
the dismantling and recycling of vessels
that can contain substances ranging from
asbestos to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
In an effort to improve
the health, safety and environmental standards
in the ship-
recycling industry in
Pakistan, the United Nations Environment
Programme's
Secretariat of the Basel
Convention convened a three-day international
workshop on Ship
Recycling Technology
and Knowledge Transfer in Izmir, Turkey.
The workshop, which was
held in cooperation with the Government
of Turkey and the Ship Recyclers' Association
of Turkey, ended today with progress being
made on strengthening the understanding
of the Convention's role in the international
regulatory regime of ship recycling.
The Basel Convention
on the Control of Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal has
been involved in the issue of ship recycling
since the late 11000s. While the Convention
applies to the recycling of end-of-life
ships, it has been difficult to enforce
over the years due to its provisions.
In May 2009, the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the
Hong Kong International Convention for the
Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling
of Ships. The Convention, which has yet
to come into force, places specific requirements
on ships from their design and construction
to their operation and recycling.
The South Asian region,
namely India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, dominates
the global ship-recycling industry, currently
occupying 70 to 80 percent of the market,
with China and Turkey occupying much of
the remainder.
A delegation from Pakistan
attending the UNEP workshop was comprised
of representatives of both Government and
industry. They sought to learn from the
improvements made in the ship-recycling
industry in Turkey and implement the practical,
regulatory and institutional changes back
home in Pakistan.
The workshop has been
an opportunity to assist the Government
of Pakistan and its industry to improve
its regulatory, institutional and infrastructural
capacity to fulfill the requirements of
the Hong Kong Convention and the relevant
requirements of the Basel Convention in
relation to ship recycling, particularly
those dealing with the downstream management
of hazardous and other wastes.
"We believe that
this workshop does not only address needs
of individual countries or regions, but
will also contribute towards defining the
respective scopes of the two international
conventions and will in this way enable
a better and clearer international regulatory
regime," said Dr. Nikos Mikelis of
the IMO.
Speaking of the initiative
in Izmir, Ms. Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive
Secretary of the Basel Convention, remarked:
"There is a real willingness on the
part of the Pakistani Government and industry
to make improvements to this important industry
and bring about enduing changes to the prevailing
safety, health and environmental conditions
in Gadani. We are thus grateful to the Government
of Turkey and the Ship Recyclers' Association
of Turkey for extending a helping hand at
this crucial time of need."
