Norway became the first contracting State to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, today, Wednesday, June 26. The Hong Kong Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or to the environment. First Secretary Kristin Stockman, of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to the United Kingdom, deposited Norway’s instrument of accession at IMO headquarters.