ASF Reports Ship Recycling Facilities Improvements in Alang

 

The Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF) visited ship recycling yards in Alang, India this week and took the opportunity to hold dialogue with SRIA, following the first meeting in March this year in Singapore, to exchange views on future actions to be jointly implemented. Purpose of this visit was to get the first-hand look at current status of Indian ship recycling facilities and to confirm actions that should be taken next for achieving green ship recycling.

Throughout the visit, the ASF was convinced that advanced recyclers, some of which had recently obtained Hong Kong Convention Statements of Compliance issued by ClassNK, operated their services with close attention given to ensure the safety of workers and environmental protection in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention. Delegates also recognised how momentum is gradually and steadily building up, following certification of facilities at some yards.

The ASF observed concerned parties are successfully upgrading operational safety and environmental friendly procedures of ship recycling in India. Yards were found to be open-minded to stakeholders’ suggestions, including training courses set by Gujarat Maritime Board, yard operators and labor unions. The ASF emphasized on these positive developments for further upgrading the facilities and operations after various countries showed positive support on India’s behalf in recent years.

The ASF met Mr Atul Sharma, Deputy General Manager (Environment), GMB and discussed ASF evaluation of Indian recycling yards, explaining its ship recycling policy. These talks were considered highly successful as GMB was receptive to hear the ASF views and to continue pursuing efforts so that correct status of Indian recycling yards are more globally recognized.

Mr Bob Hsu, Secretary of the ASF’s Ship Recycling Committee (SRC), on behalf of Dr Frank Lu, the SRC Chairman, emphasised “Seeing is believing!! Improvements of ClassNK’s certified ship recycling yards are particularly recognised and surely enhance our confidence to voice to the public that assessments of each ship recycling facility should be implemented individually without any prejudice. Look at India.” He further added “the ASF repeatedly emphasized on these occasions necessity of early entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention”

Bearing in mind the fact that current unfavorable image of ship recycling practices in India remains as a stereotype, the ASF agreed with SRIA that all necessary actions will be jointly taken to dispel that image so that the international community accurately recognises the current status of developments in India.

In order to ensure availability of a sustainable ship recycling capacity that assure environmentally sound and safe ship recycling manner in response to high global demand of recycling for more than a decade, ASF continues to visit recycling yards as well as holding dialogues with recyclers in major recycling countries.