India accedes to recycling Convention

India, one of the world’s five major ship recycling countries, has acceded to the IMO Hong Kong Convention, the treaty setting global standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling. India’s accession brings this important convention a significant step closer to entering into force, with the required 15 states now party to it and with India’s ship recycling volume considerably contributing to the required recycling capacity. Under the Hong Kong Convention, ships sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of all hazardous materials on board. Ship recycling facilities are required to provide a “Ship Recycling Plan”, specifying how each ship will be recycled, based on its particular characteristics and its inventory of hazardous materials.