The European Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement on updated and more efficient rules for waste shipments. Of special relevance to the shipping community, this new agreement will make it possible to responsibly recycle EU-flagged ships operating internationally at facilities outside the EU and OECD, provided that these facilities have EU-approval.
The new agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on waste shipments opens the door for responsible recycling of EU-flagged ships outside the EU and OECD.
Danish Shipping is pleased with the new agreement and expects it will raise the standards at ship-recycling facilities around the world.
“We expect that a growing number of ships will be recycled over the coming years, so I am very pleased that an agreement on waste shipments has been reached. Recycling of ships must always be done in a safe, responsible and environmentally sound manner and we believe this new agreement will help secure exactly that, said Nina Porst, Director of Climate, Environment and Safety at Danish Shipping.
The facilities outside the EU will now – if they meet EU standards – be able to receive EU-approval, which gives them an incentive to seek to attract customers with EU-flagged ships. This will raise the quality of ship recycling facilities around the world.
“As part of our decarbonisation process, an increasing number of older, less energy-efficient ships will need to be recycled. Increasing the global facility capacity for recycling ships according to the high EU safety and environmental standards is good news for all parties,” said Nina Porst.
The agreement is expected to be formally approved by the Council and the European Parliament before the end of the year.