The Hong Kong Convention on the recycling of ships

The newly agreed Hong Kong Convention on the Recycling of Ships ("SRC") is a contribution to the effort of ensuring safety for the workforce and the environmental recycling of ships. The contributions of the new Convention include a documentary system for the presence of hazardous materials on board new ships, the development of a certificate for ships ready to be recycled and an authorisation system for recycling facilities. The system under the new Convention is planned to apply equally to developed and developing Contracting States. This is at least partly in contradiction to the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes 1989, which imposes heavier obligations on developed states. Whether the new Convention is consistent with the Basel Convention and could replace it in respect of the recycling of ships is discussed. Efforts to improve on the situation on the basis of contractual arrangements, as well as potential conflicts under international trade law, are also considered.