Meeting obligations on recycling ships in conditions that are safe for workers and the environment, as required by EU rules, will be simplified by the European Commission's publication on Tuesday 20 December of the first European list of approved ship recycling facilities.
The new European regulation on the scrapping of vessels, adopted in 2013, made this list a requirement. The regulation seeks to ensure that the dismantling of old vessels sailing under the European flag is carried out only in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound and that substances on board EU vessels are duly documented so that they can be treated appropriately in every corner of the globe. Under the terms of the regulation, from 2020, all vessels – including those only visiting European ports – will be required to prepare an inventory of hazardous materials on board (see EUROPE 10966).
For the moment, the list identifies 18 facilities, all located in the EU, which comply with the strict requirements set by the regulation to be able to operate legally. Applications from third country shipyards are currently being assessed and those that meet the requirements will be included in the list in 2017.
“These ships were often designed and built in Europe; we can take care of them at the end of their life too – in a respectful way”, states European Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella in a press release.
The regulation seeks to put an end to the unregulated beaching and dismantling of old European tubs with no regard for safety or the environment in developing countries.
At the same time as the list, the Commission adopted four implementing acts to facilitate implementation of the European regulation (Regulation (EU) 1257/2013 of 20 November 2013 on recycling vessels, amending Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and Directive 2009/16/EC). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)