The Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling will enter into force in mid-2025, establishing globally harmonised rules for environmental and labour protection in the shipbreaking sector. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the entry into force was triggered by Bangladesh and Liberia signing on to the convention.
Non-governmental organisations, including the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, have for years denounced the shipbreaking sector for repeated human rights violations, child labour, worker illnesses and deaths and environmental damage due to the release of pollutants and dumping of wastes.
In the EU, the dismantling of end-of-life merchant ships has been regulated since 2013 by the Ship Recycling Regulation. It stipulates that ships sailing under the flag of member states can only be recycled in recycling facilities included in a European List. However, these rules can be circumvented by "out-flagging” ships, so they sail under flags of non-EU countries....
