Ship Recycling Yard Receives a SOC with HKC from RINA

PHP Family recycling yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh has just received a Statement of Compliance (SOC) with the Hong Kong Convention, for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) from international Classification Society RINA. This is an important development towards a more sustainable ship recycling industry, further raising the bar in the standards for this sector in Bangladesh. On the release of this encouraging news Dr Anil Sharma, President and CEO of GMS, commented: “It is with enormous pleasure that we welcome this great achievement of PHP Family yard to acquire an SOC with HKC from the Italian class society, RINA.

Their great passion and continuous efforts combined with a significant investment in yard infrastructure according to the standards set by the HKC, must be rewarded and receive support by the international maritime community. PHP Family yard has worked hard to improve their safety and environmental standards by following successfully the HKC guidelines, which are enabling the whole ship recycling industry to achieve sustainable goals for ship recycling. We sincerely hope that this great achievement will attract more shipowners to yards that are endorsing Responsible Ship Recycling and lead as an example for the rest in Bangladesh”.

Furthermore, Dr. Mikelis, Non-Executive Director of GMS, made a comment on the upcoming EU approved list of recycling facilities: “A decision is awaited for the yards that are outside the EU and have applied for inclusion in the EU approved list of recycling facilities. These yards are already holding Statements of Compliance with the HKC so they have proven that they meet the high safety and environmental standards laid out in the HKC through significant investment, training and development within the region. Excluding these yards would create an insurmountable divide within the industry based solely on their geographic location, and threaten to halt the positive progress made by the HKC in South Asia.

At the moment, there are over 45 recycling yards in Alang, India that have received a SOC with HKC from international class societies, and another 15 yards working towards it, which means that almost 50% of the active recycling facilities in India have met the standards set by the HKC guidelines. This is a most encouraging development that must be acknowledged and supported by the international shipping community”.
Source: GMS