The Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and Its Application in China

Ship recycling is labour intensive and takes place largely in developing countries. Worker safety and environmental issues have clearly been focused by international community. In this paper, the hazardous wastes onboard were presented and the impact of these pollutants discharged from ship recycling was analyzed. Then, the current international conventions and standards were introduced. Herein, the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (the Hong Kong Convention), was mentioned in detail, including its background, main content and enforcement. Finally, China's green ship recycling was investigated and some suggestions were proposed to our government and shipbreaking companies. In summary, ship recycling is facing to great opportunities and challenges. Only through the cooperation of the stakeholders, can ship recycling industry get the sustained development.