India eyes 60% share of global ship recycling business

Syllabus subtopic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019 and its significance; about the Hong Kong convention

News: With a new legislation in place, India aims to garner at least 60% of the global ship recycling business and emerge as a key destination for recycling warships and other ship.

Ship recycling in India

Gujarat’s Alang, the world’s biggest shipyard, was ready to cater to the projected increase in the number of ships for recycling.
Currently, India recycles around 300 of the 1,000 ships which are demolished per annum globally.
However, the likes of Japan, the United States and Europe were not sending their ships for recycling to India in the absence of ratification of a global convention. That scenario is set to change with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.
The Act ratifies the Hong Kong convention and would facilitate an environment-friendly process of recycling ships and adequate safety for yard workers.
The govt. says contribution from ship recycling activities to the country’s GDP would reach $2.2 billion, almost double compared to the current level.

Note: To read the details of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, click on the link below:

http://prsindia.org/billtrack/recycling-ships-bill-2019

About the Hong Kong Convention

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (the Hong Kong Convention), was adopted at a diplomatic conference held in Hong Kong, China in 2009.
It was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2009.
The Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment.
It also addresses concerns raised about the working and environmental conditions at many of the world’s ship recycling locations.
The Convention is yet to come into force because it has not been ratified by 15 nations, representing 40 per cent of the world merchant shipping by gross tonnage (capacity) and a maximum annual ship recycling volume of not less than 3 per cent of the combined tonnage of the countries.

Source: The Hindu

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