The Hong Kong Convention: New global standards for ship recycling

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the Hong Kong Convention) was adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) back in 2009. After more than 16 years, the Convention entered into force on 26 June 2025, marking a significant milestone in international environmental and maritime law for the recycling of ships.

The aim of the Convention is to make ship scrapping safer and more environmentally sound worldwide. The Hong Kong Convention is intended to set new standards for the protection of people and the environment.

Why an international convention on ship recycling?

The majority of shipbreaking facilities are located in developing and emerging countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Until now, recycling has been carried out in uncertified facilities under hazardous conditions, often without adequate safety precautions or environmental requirements. The purpose of the Hong Kong Convention is to prevent, reduce, minimise and eliminate accidents, injuries and other adverse effects of ship recycling on human health and the environment.

In the European Union, Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on ship recycling (the “EU Ship Recycling Regulation”) has been applicable since 31 December 2018. In addition, Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 on shipments of waste must be taken into account. The EU thus made some provisions of the Hong Kong Convention binding on EU Member States long before they came into force. However, the EU Ship Recycling Regulation only applies to ships flying the flag of an EU Member State. In addition, there are only a few recycling facilities certified under the EU Regulation.[1] In many cases, ships destined for recycling were sold to shipping companies outside Europe and later scrapped in Southeast Asia. As a result, EU regulations are rarely applicable. With the Hong Kong Convention, this is now to be prevented by introducing uniform rules and conditions for all ships flying the flag of a contracting state and for all ship recycling facilities in the contracting states.

Which countries have ratified the Hong Kong Convention?

24 countries have already ratified the Convention and are thus actively participating in the objectives pursued by the Convention[2] . These countries together account for 45% of the global merchant fleet and more than 20% of global recycling capacity. In addition to Germany, important flag states such as Liberia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Malta, Norway and Japan have ratified the Hong Kong Convention. It should be noted that India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Ghana, where a large proportion of global ship recycling activities take place, have also ratified the Convention. The ratification by Bangladesh and India in particular demonstrates the change in awareness and the importance of the Hong Kong Convention. The ratification by Bangladesh and India in particular demonstrates the change in awareness and the importance of the Hong Kong Convention for the future. The importance of the agreement is underlined by the shipping association BIMCO. It estimates that around 16,000 seagoing ships will need to be recycled over the next ten years.[3]

What are the main points of the Hong Kong Convention?

Seagoing ships may only be scrapped at certified shipyards that comply with all the environmental and safety requirements of the Hong Kong Convention. The Convention is aimed at flag states, shipping companies, shipowners, insurers and shipbreaking facilities, and obliges them to take comprehensive measures.

All ships operating in international traffic with a gross tonnage of more than 500 are required to prepare an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) and keep it on board. The flag state of the ship is required to certify the IHM. For new ships, this must be done when the ship is registered. There is no specified deadline for ships already in service to obtain the certificate.

The recycling states have a similar task. They are required to issue operating licences to recycling yards via the “Ship Recycling Plan” and the “Ship Recycling Facility Plan”.

Finally, before a ship that has reached the end of its life can be recycled, each flag state must issue a “Certificate of Readiness for Recycling” for the ship. This must be done in accordance with the IHM and the ship recycling plan.

What does this mean for German shipowners and shipyards?

From a legal perspective, nothing will change for EU member states, including Germany, as the EU Ship Recycling Regulation takes precedence.

As already mentioned (see above), EU Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 stipulates that the export of hazardous waste – which may also include ships – to non-OECD countries is prohibited. It follows that a recycling country that has ratified the Hong Kong Convention but is not an OECD country or the respective shipbreaking yard is not one of the authorised recycling yards in accordance with the EU directives, the export ban under Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 applies. Accordingly, the shipment of waste, including a ship intended for recycling, is only permitted within the framework of a so-called notification procedure with the consent of the authorities. In the event of violations, fines of up to EUR 50,000 may be imposed (Section 18 AbfVerbrG). Illegal shipment of hazardous waste within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 is even punishable by imprisonment of up to five years (Section 18a AbfVerbrG). Not least, the severe penalties for violations underscore the importance of protecting people and the environment in connection with hazardous waste.

However, it remains problematic that the applicability of the aforementioned regulations and the Waste Management Act can be easily circumvented[4] and that there are also gaps in criminal liability. With regard to criminal liability, this is due to the narrow scope of application of the AbfVerbrG, which only refers to EU Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006. In fact, there is no criminal liability for violations of this regulation. In factual terms, there is a dispute as to whether a suitable act requires a “domestic connection” to Germany and whether criminal liability can only be considered if waste is transported “into the federal territory”, “through the federal territory” or “out of the federal territory”. Criminal liability is therefore ruled out if the ship was no longer in the federal territory before it was scrapped and was flagged out. Some argue that the term “transfer” should be interpreted so broadly as to include the business decision to scrap a ship.[5] According to this view, it should be sufficient for criminal liability to arise if the decision to scrap the ship was made in the federal territory. The physical location of the ship is irrelevant in this context. This approach closes the loophole in criminal liability, but violates the requirement of specificity under Article 103 (2) of the German Constitution.

As things stand, however, there are still significant gaps in criminal liability. This situation will not change with the Hong Kong Convention. It is to be hoped that, in the context of the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention, the legislator will take on the task of closing the aforementioned gaps in criminal liability and thus ensure the complete applicability of EU Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 and EU Regulation (EC) No. 1257/2013, the AbfVerbrG and the Hong Kong Convention.

Conclusion

The Hong Kong Convention sends a clear signal for environmental protection. Stricter audits will also ensure that environmentally sound procedures are followed. Even though the entry into force of the Convention does not bring any major changes for EU Member States, it is nevertheless an important, necessary and welcome step towards sustainability and safety. It remains to be seen to what extent there will be an increase in certified ship al recycling facilities and whether this will lead to a market shake-up of non-certified, sub-standard shipbreaking facilities.

[1] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/ships/site-inspection-reports_en
[2] https://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/en/activities/statutory/shiprecycle/
[3] https://www.bimco.org/news-insights/market-analysis/shipping-number-of-the-week/2025/0626-snow/ (as of 10 July 2025).
[4] Hamburg Regional Court, decision of 31 March 2025 – 636 KLs 9/23.
[5] Elsner, On the criminal liability of “ship recycling”, NStZ 2023, 135.