The Merchant Shipping Directorate has issued a merchant shipping notice to remind all concerned that Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 20th November 2013 on ship recycling will become applicable on 31 December 2018.
The new EU Regulation prohibits and restricts the use or installation of certain hazardous materials. These include asbestos, ozone-depleting substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, and anti-fouling compounds and systems. The regulation requests also each new ship to have on board an Inventory of Hazardous Materials, identifying certain hazardous materials contained in the structure or equipment of the ship, along with the approximate quantities and their location. New ships, built after 31st December 2018, must have an inventory for hazardous materials on board before going into service. Existing ships must as far as possible must have an Inventory on board from 31 December 2020 identifying at least the hazardous materials mentioned below.
This regulation will apply also for Non-EU flagged vessels. Such vessels will be required to have an inventory of hazardous materials on board as from the 31st December 2020, if they are calling at a port or anchorage of an EU Member State together with a statement of compliance issued by the authorities of the third country whose flag the ship is flying.
A number of steps to be completed before a ship can be properly recycled, including the development of a ship recycling plan, the completion of a number of surveys, the making of all necessary notifications, and the issuance and endorsement of inventory certificates are also included in this new regulation. The most onerous requirement however is that ships may only be recycled in EU approved facilities.
Click here to read the MS Notice 147, as issued by Transport Malta, or contact us on [email protected] for further guidance and information.