High-level Event: A safe and environmentally sound approach to ship recycling
The entry into force of the International Hong Kong Convention in June 2025 represents a significant step toward ensuring safe and environmentally sound ship recycling, safeguarding both our oceans and coastal livelihoods.
To highlight progress and challenges, IMO, in collaboration with the Governments of Norway and Pakistan, will host a side event focused on sustainable ship recycling and hazardous waste management, particularly in developing countries.
Date: Thursday, 1 May 2025
Time: 13:15 -14:45 (UTC+2)
Location: Room B, Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), 17 rue de Varembé, Geneva, Switzerland.
The side event is part of the Meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions in 2025, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 28 April to 9 May 2025.
Programme
Please find the programme here and below.
13:15 – 13:20 Welcome
13:20 – 13:25 Opening remarks, by Mr Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General, International Maritime Organization (IMO)
13:25 – 13:30 Video: Safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships
13:30 – 13:45 Presentation: IMO’s work on ship recycling, by Mr Loukas Kontogiannis, IMO
13:45 – 13:50 Presentation: Forecasting the impact of global policies on ship recycling markets, by Ms Gudrun Janssens, Head of EU Engagement, BIMCO
13:50 – 14:30 Panel Discussion: Moving Forward with the Hong Kong Convention: Fostering Collaboration
Panellists: Norway, Pakistan, EC, BIMCO, ILO, BRS Secretariat and IMO
14:30 – 14:40 Q&A
14:40 – 14:45 Closing remarks
The Hong Kong Convention
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention) will enter into force on 26 June 2025. Its aim is to ensure that ships at the end of their operational lives are recycled safely and without posing unnecessary risks to human health and the environment.
The Hong Kong Convention addresses all environmental and safety aspects relating to ship recycling by placing responsibilities and obligations on all parties concerned – shipowners, ship building yards, ship recycling facilities, flag States, port States, and recycling States - regarding the responsible management and disposal of associated waste streams in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
Regulations in the Convention cover the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling of vessels, and the establishment of an appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling, incorporating certification and reporting requirements.
IMO has been working towards the introduction of universal global regulations on safe and environmentally sound ship recycling for more than two decades. The first Guidelines on Ship Recycling were adopted by the IMO Assembly in late 2003.