Hongkong Convention in Brief with India’s Action
For Ship Breaking Industry -Hongkong Convention
Let’s Start our talk about Hongkong Convention from knowing the Ship Breaking Industry, then we will see What is the proposed bill?, its features, impact and finally India’s action.
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Ship Breaking Industry
Ship Breaking
Ship Breaking is a process where ship breaks after the completion of life tenure of the ship.
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According to wiki, Ship-breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction of raw materials, chiefly scrap. It may also be known as ship dismantling, ship cracking, or ship recycling. Modern ships have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years before corrosion, metal fatigue and a lack of parts render them uneconomical to operate.
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What Ship’s made up of?
Mainly the ships are made up of
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1. Steel
2. Aluminium alloy
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The ship recycling is the most environmentally sound way to dispose of a ship, after the end of it life tenure, as the ship,s materials can be reuse.
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Now so we know a bit of what Ship Breaking is and why we recycle ships
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Let’s go further.
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Adoption: 15 May 2009; Entry into force: 24 months after ratification by 15 States, representing 40 per cent of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, combined maximum annual ship recycling volume not less than 3 per cent of their combined tonnage
What is the Proposed bill?
– It restricts & prohibits the use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of a ship is meant for recycling or not.
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– This bill also provide that ships shall be recycled in accordance with a ship specific recycling plan.
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This two points says the bill at a glance
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Let’s talk about the points a bit more
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The Bill restricts & prohibits the use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of a ship is meant for recycling or not, also for new ships that restrict and prohibits on the use of hazardous material will be immediate that is from the date of legislation and existing ship will be given 5 years of compilation period. It will not include the military ship or ships of war, or merchant ship operated by government. The ship shall be certified and investigate for the presence of hazardous material used on ship.
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This bill also provide that ships shall be recycled in accordance with a ship specific recycling plan.
The plan will be upto the International standard and ships to be recycled in any country shall be required to obtain a ready for recycling certificate in accordance with the Hongkong Convention.
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Salient features of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
– The Convention has been designed to try to improve the health & safety of current ship breaking practices.
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– The Hongkong Convention recognizes that ship recycling is the most environmentally sound way to dispose the ship at the end of their life as most of the ship’s materials can be reused.
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Impact of the Hongkong Convention
– Many Ship breaking yard has poor working and living condition, worker face many serious work related injury. The Hongkong Convention provides an international standard for the ship breaking yard and also for the workers so that the job becomes less dangerous. As estimated almost everyday 1 life is lost while ship breaking. It is one of the dangerous jobs in the world because ships carries radioactive wastes and extremely toxic chemicals which directly affects the health of the workers, 100s of manual labours meant to break one single ship and this labourers are very poor, living in slums and no health facility.
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– It is also an environmental time bomb as workers strip the ships marooned on the sea shore.
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– which leads to severe contamination of the sea bed, eventually seeping into the marine food chain.
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India accedes to Hongkong convention for Ship Recycling
The Union cabinet of India has approved the proposal for enactment of recycling of ships bill, 2019 & accession to the Hongkong International Convention for safe & environmentally sound recycling of ships 2009.
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This convention was started at a kind of 2009 now it is about to bring the legislation.
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India is the leader in global recycling industry with the share of almost 30% of the market as per UNCTAD they brought a report said about the maritime transport in 2018. India had demolished 6,323 tonnes of ship in 2017.
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