the ECSA invites the EU to as soon as possible open the European directory of the systems of recycling of the ships to third-country



The association of the European shipowners has evidenced that the ability to the yards of naval demolition that are included in the first directory of systems of recycling of the authorized ships to operate from the EU is not sufficient in order to satisfy the fixed objectives of ability from Europe for this type of activity.

The first list, that it is defined by the EU commission at the end last year ( on 22 December 2016), it includes 18 systems of recycling of the ships all situated in Europe. "If the directory of the European Union can serve to elevate the standards of recycling of the ships all over the world and to answer to the recycling question - the general secretary of the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA has explained), Patrick Verhoeven - the current directory demonstrate the necessity clearly to include ship yards to you of third-country and in particular those which already satisfy the established international standards from the Convention of Hong Kong on the recycling of the ships sure and compatible with the atmosphere".

Association shipowning ECSA has observed that the first list of authorized yards to carry out activity of naval demolition from the EU, as they are judged sure for the workers and their activity is considered compatible with the atmosphere, reaches alone 35% of the objective of ability to recycling of the ships fixed from the European Union. The association has remembered that the EU commission has received questions of admission to this directory by yards of third-country, but these demands are still to the examination of the European authorities and in the course of this year inspections in these plants will be carried out in order to verify their credentials.

The ECSA has evidenced moreover that "the Convention of Hong Kong of the IMO has already a deep impact on the field since the yards of naval demolition have assumed provisions in order to respect its prescription, even if the same Convention still has not taken effect. This - the association of the European shipowners has remembered - is in particular the case of a series of yards of Alang, in India". According to the ECSA, "debit to these yards the acknowledgment of the EU will encourage the others to improve own standards and to candidate itself for being admitted to they time in the directory. Moreover it will allow to guarantee a sufficient and adequate ability on the list EU, not only in terms of volumes, but also in terms of dimensions of the ships that can be dismantled. In its turn, this will facilitate a fast which took effect of the convention of Hong Kong, having created parity of conditions in the total market of the recycling of the ships".

"In 2016 - it has found Verhoeven - about 150 container vessels they have been correspondents to the demolition, while the current directory of the EU would afford the recycling of sun 16 container vessels of minor dimension holding in consideration the constraints of the European yards in terms of length and draught of the ships. And this is relative to a single type of ships. We therefore strongly encourage the Commission to widen the directory to extra-European structures as soon as possible".

The ECSA has concluded remembering that, once that the regulations EU on the recycling of the ships will take effect, all the ships that navigate under flag EU will be held to use a system of authorized recycling and that this will happen to pass from before two dates, that is to six months from the date in which the maximum arranged volume annual of recycling of the ships of the systems of recycling enrolled in the European directory it represents at least 2,5 million tons of displacement in vain or on December 31, 2018.