Global Ship Recycling Treaty Comes into Force

A worldwide convention that regulates ship recycling has finally taken effect, a significant move toward minimizing the hazards and environmental impact of ship breaking. The International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Hong Kong International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships adopted in 2009 came into force on 26 June 2025. The convention establishes common world standards for the entire life span of ships, particularly where ships reach the end of their lives, in a way that employees are not injured and the environment is not damaged either.

The Convention provides global standards for shipbuilding, design, operation, and preparation for recycling. The Convention imposes equally binding requirements on shipping companies and ship recycling facilities, setting procedures for the management of hazardous materials and minimizing the risk of injury to shipbreaking workers in international shipbreaking. One among its major duties is that the vessels possess an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) containing material such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ozone-depleting materials, and heavy metals utilized in the formulation of the ship throughout its life time.

The ship breaking industry has always been the cause of concern with respect to health and the environment, especially in third-world countries. South Asia is the hub of most of this activity, with India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey at the top. All these nations have poor legislations and infrastructure, hence unsafe working practices, and tons of environmental degradation through harmful wastes.

Recycling facilities under the new regime will need to meet a certain standard, including worker safety standards, hazardous waste disposal standards, and documentation and monitoring requirements. These include regimes of certification, inspection schemes, and compliance enforcement requirements that apply to all — shipowners and shipbuilders right down to recycling states, flag states, and port states.

To help states into compliance with these new regulations, the IMO launched the Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling (SENSREC) project. The program is sponsored primarily by the Norwegian government and runs in Bangladesh and Pakistan. It delivers policy support, technical assistance, and capacity building to ship recycling industry stakeholders, especially in states with low regulatory capacity. Internationally coordinated workshops and governance support have been a key driver of enabling such nations transition towards environmentally friendly recycling practice.

Entry into force of the Convention hinged on 15 states having 40 percent of the world's merchant shipping tonnage by gross tonnage and a substantial part of the world's ship recycling capacity. The threshold was reached in 2023 and entailed an opening of a 24-month waiting period during which the Convention could be brought into force.

A total of 24 states have acceded to the Convention as of June 2025. They include several of the major flag states like Panama, Liberia, Japan, and Marshall Islands, as well as the biggest recycling states. The combined states represent more than 57 percent of world merchant shipping tonnage. This coverage guarantees the widespread effect of the Convention on the shipping and recycling industry.

The Hong Kong Convention was developed by the efforts of various international institutions, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Basel Convention, and by the efforts of various intergovernmental and non-governmental bodies. The initiatives brought together a treaty that considers both environmental and human health hazards in ship breaking.

One of the Convention's finest advantages is that it sets global standards. The laws on ship recycling were different from one country to another before this, which led to "regulation shopping" whereby shipowners resorted to those recycling facilities with poorest standards in a bid to cut costs. The new treaty seeks to put an end to such activities by instituting compliance through cooperation between nations.

Since the regulations were enacted, shipping organizations are required to make arrangements for end-of-life recycling as of the initial design phase. The options are to select easier to handle or safe to dispose of materials, ensure proper documentation during the life of the vessel in service, and recycle at approved facilities only.

The long-awaited entry into force of the Convention is a landmark in maritime sustainability. It also indicates increasing world consensus on finding a balance between economic activity and environmental protection and social justice. Governments and industry stakeholders will now have to collaborate in ensuring its effective implementation and monitoring.

Through making ship recycling safer and cleaner, the Convention is expected to enhance the lives of thousands of shipbreaking yard employees working in dismantling activities and decrease levels of pollution in coastal regions where dismantling occurs by a notable extent. The international shipping industry is now under a significant obligation to abide by these new standards and make sure ships are broken down responsibly.

Adherence to the treaty is also advantageous in the long run by encouraging circular economy practices in shipping, for example, recycling and reusing high-value ship materials like steel and mechanical equipment, minimizing the use of virgin materials.

Source: International Maritime Organization (IMO)