The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has called on the European Commission, the European Parliament and Member States to support the introduction of a financial incentive that will enhance safe and environmentally sound ship recycling in line with the standard set by the European Ship Recycling Regulation.
The Platform asked the EC to develop a legislative proposal in order to implement the polluter pays principle for ship owners with a European Ship Recycling Licence.
“The shipping industry has been on the go for the last 15 years trying hard to fight off regulation that would really hold them accountable for dirty and dangerous shipbreaking practices. Now it is finally time to act,” Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, said.
In 2015, Bangladesh, where conditions are said to be worst, was the ship owners’ preferred destination for breaking large ocean-going ships, NGO Shipbreaking Platform said, adding that it is “high time to hold the shipping industry accountable for the proper recycling of end-of-life ships.”
The Platform calls for effective solutions that end breaking of ships on the beaches of South Asia and initiate the transition of the industry towards clean and safe methods globally.