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During the European Shipping Summit (ESS) in Brussels, the Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV) will be organising on 19 March a debate on ship recycling, together with BIMCO, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, and the Malta International Shipowners' Association.

The question was in the mind of every participant at the panel discussion jointly organised by the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association and BIMCO at this week’s European Shipping Summit.

The entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention in 2025 marks a pivotal step by nations to ensure the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. In the race to safeguarding a sustainable planet, the common international standard in ship recycling is also setting a new direction in which all stakeholders engage in the maritime circular economy

Belgian shipowners, represented by the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association (RBSA), applaud the approval by the Government of Bangladesh yesterday to ratify the Hong Kong Convention. This moves the world one step closer to the entry into force of a common global standard to recycle end-of-life ships.

The recent review of the regulations pertaining to pollution prevention in the shipping industry, including the Ship-Source Pollution Directive, the Ship Recycling Regulation, and the Environmental Liability Directive is coming under the scrutiny of the shipping industry within and outside Europe.

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation needs “major surgery”, but the current proposals offer little more than a sticking plaster, says Gudrun Janssens Head of Environmental & Technical Affairs, Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association on the latest GMS Podcast.

There is no doubt now that the HKC will ensure that earlier substandard ship recycling practices are banned, and this to the benefit of people working in the industry and the marine environment