oward a Safe and Sustainable Industry of Ship-breaking: International Initiatives and South Asian Response (original) (raw)
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Trade Law and Development, 2010
The increasing dominance of developing countries like India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the global ship-breaking industry illustrates the paradoxical nature of economic globalization. While such operations provide access to employment and cheap material resources, they also pose serious long-term and irreversible harm to local environment and human health. In addition, the transnational character of the shipbreaking trade has militated against effective domestic oversight of its environmental hazards and has turned international regulation into an imperative.
Fordham Environmental Law Review, 2020
Ship-breaking is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world and widely known as a pollution-heavy industry. This industry is currently concentrated primarily in three South Asian developing countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Ensuring the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships remains a global concern. There are many international regulations which apply to the activities of ship-breaking, but none of them address the issue in a comprehensive manner. The most relevant international instrument governing ship recycling, the 2009 Hong Kong Convention remains unenforceable due to non-ratification by the chief ship recycling states. The only enforceable international instrument closely relevant to ship recycling activity is the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal adopted in 1989. However due to its exceedingly pro-environmental character, its applicability over End of Life ships remains uncertain. As a stopgap measure, this article will attempt to explore other currently enforceable international laws that can potentially be utilized to govern the industry in the face of uncertainty with these two mainstream legal instruments. This article postulates that a prompt solution to this controversial global activity is unlikely to occur anytime soon.
EU Ship Recycling Regulation: What's in it for South Asia?
Shipbreaking does not feature on the headlines very often, however, this industry plays a very important role in the economies of South Asian countries. The recycling of end-of-life vessels for scrap metal and other materials is a very profitable industry for both ship-owning companies and the owners of shipbreaking yards. However, developing countries pay the highest price in terms of human lives and environmental damage, with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan on the frontline. A legal framework to counteract these sub-standard recycling practices is already in place, thanks to the Basel Convention, the International Maritime Organisation, the International Labour Organisation guidelines and the latest Hong Kong Convention. The European Union has also recently introduced the Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) aiming to reduce the environmental and human impact of this industry, especially on the developing countries. Yet, it is a long way before the Regulation could prove its effectiveness as experts have criticised its final version. The objective of this paper is to present the issue of shipbreaking in South Asia and its characteristics and to analyse the latest European Regulation on ship recycling, contextualising it in the international legal framework.
The Origin and Evolution of the Shipbreaking Regime in India: A Critical Perspective
Brill , 2023
India has faced fierce competition with Bangladesh in the ship recycling business since South Asia became the epicenter of global shipbreaking in the 1980s. The current legislative stand of India in ship recycling is undeniably an anticipated outcome of India’s recent decision to ratify the Hong Kong Convention, which is believed to be one of the most pro business as well as weak and fragile international environmental regimes.417 This position of India is contrary to its existing obligations under the Basel Convention which, as noted above, reflects the true spirit of the Indian Constitution418 and is considered by many to be one of the strongest and eco-friendly international environmental regimes.419 With these notes of clear conflict of obligations of the State under international law, breaches of fundamental provisions of the State’s constitution, and overtly disaffirming the Supreme Court’s directives, how the new legislative regime will embrace sustainable ship recycling in India remains for the time being an unfulfilled expectation.
2019
The dissertation is an analysis of international and national legal frameworks regarding ship recycling activities. The main emphasis of the study is on the analysis of international legal instruments and the national regulations in Indonesia on waste management and ship recycling in order to find the challenges faced by the Government of Indonesia towards the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention. The study is conducted by analyzing the international regulatory frameworks and the existing national regulations for waste management and ship recycling as well. The research is focused on the preparedness of the Government of Indonesia for the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention by discussing the existing conditions of ship recycling practice in Indonesia and the national regulations pertaining the matter. In regard to the ratification process, a study is also conducted to the national regulations relating to the process of ratification of international conventions and at the same time the roles and obligations of the different Ministries and other stakeholders involved in ship recycling practice and industry in Indonesia are also examined in order to define the which Ministry and institution to undergo the process. As the final result, the study on the challenges on the ratification process of Hong Kong Convention by the Government of Indonesia is concluded with several recommendations on the ratification and the implementation of the Hong Kong Convention in Indonesia including the preparation of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials as one of the key requirements of the Convention by the Recognized Organization.
Journal of International Maritime Safety, Environmental Affairs, and Shipping Taylor and Francis, 2021
Ship recycling operation is widely considered as one of the most hazardous activities in the shipbuilding industry due to environmental pollution and health risks to workers. Stringent environmental and labour compliance standards enforced over the past few decades in developed nations have substantially increased the costs, shifting the recycling operations to nations in the Global South where these operations entail lower cost. This paper provides an overview of the ship recycling industry and highlights the consequential adverse effects on environment and human beings in the nations engaged in ship recycling and also elaborates on the guidelines proposed by international organisations to address these issues. It is argued that unless the externalities on the environment and human health are not taken into account, a sustainable model of ship recycling cannot be achieved. The paper proposes the formation of a consortium by recycling nations particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, whose synergies will help to safeguard the interests of the workforce and environment in these countries. A ship recycling industry fund, under the auspices of International Maritime Organisation exclusively for meeting the cost of ship recycling, is also mooted for consideration. The availability of this fund, along with efficient policy formulations initiated by the consortium of major ship recycling nations, can play a major role in addressing the externalities and turning the recycling operation environment-and labour-friendly.
The Ship Breaking and Recycling Industry in Bangladesh and Pakistan
2010
This study seeks to strengthen the knowledge base with respect to competitiveness and profitability of the Ship Breaking and Recycling Industry (SBRI) and to investigate the feasibility of ship breaking countries in this region, specifically Bangladesh and Pakistan, achieving compliance with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) without jeopardizing the future of the industry there. The objective of the study is to inform key stakeholders associated with policy making and ship breaking including the government of Pakistan and the government of Bangladesh about the current problems encountered in the SBRI and suggest a road map to help strengthen institutional and regulatory systems that can improve work practices in the ship breaking and recycling industry. The study addresses the following: i) it assessed the productivity, competitiveness and growth potential of the industry in Bangladesh and Pakistan (chapter two); ii) it undertook environmental audits of hazardous waste materials presen...