zoomIllustration; Image Courtesy: NGO Shipbreaking Yard

PHP Family, a recycling yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh has received a Statement of Compliance (SOC) with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) for the safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.

Granted by international classification society RINA, the SOC is an important development towards a more sustainable ship recycling industry, further raising the bar in the standards for this sector in Bangladesh, according to GMS, a cash buyer of ships for recycling.

“PHP Family yard has worked hard to improve their safety and environmental standards by following successfully the HKC guidelines, which are enabling the whole ship recycling industry to achieve sustainable goals for ship recycling,” Anil Sharma, President and CEO of GMS, said.

“We sincerely hope that this great achievement will attract more shipowners to yards that are endorsing Responsible Ship Recycling and lead as an example for the rest in Bangladesh,” Sharma added.

Additionally, a decision is awaited for the yards that are outside the EU and have applied for inclusion in the EU approved list of recycling facilities.

Nikos Mikelis, Non-Executive Director of GMS, said that these yards are already holding Statements of Compliance with the HKC “so they have proven that they meet the high safety and environmental standards laid out in the HKC through significant investment, training and development within the region.”

“Excluding these yards would create an insurmountable divide within the industry based solely on their geographic location, and threaten to halt the positive progress made by the HKC in South Asia,” Mikelis added.

At the moment, there are over 45 recycling yards in Alang, India that have received a SOC with HKC from international class societies, and another 15 yards working towards it, which means that almost 50% of the active recycling facilities in India have met the standards set by the HKC guidelines.