Recycling of Ships - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 85

5.4 Salient Features of the Convention

5.4.1 General Obligations

The Convention imposes a general obligation on the parties “to prevent, reduce,
minimise and, to the extent practicable, eliminate accidents, injuries and other
adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by Ship Recycling”. 27
To ensure that these goals are met, State parties must “enhance ship safety,
protection of human health and the environment throughout a ship

s operating
life”. 28 The Convention takes a cradle-to-grave approach, which is very much
needed for the environmentally-sound disposal of end-of-life vessels.
The Convention includes an article declaring that States may take more stringent
measures, consistent with international law, with respect to safe and
environmentally-sound recycling of ships. 29 But some of the members of the
working group have raised an objection to this provision. 30 These objectors are of
the opinion that a State always has a right to apply regulations that are more
stringent than international laws with respect to ships and recycling facilities within
its jurisdiction, so no special article is necessary. 31 They argue that this article could
give coastal States additional power to apply stringent regulations to the ships of
other parties. 32 Therefore, these objectors claimed that this article should be deleted
from the Convention. 33 However, not all of the parties were supportive of this
change, and the article has been included in the Convention. 34
This Convention applies to “ships entitled to fly the flag of a Party,” as well as to
“Ship Recycling Facilities operating under the jurisdiction of a Party”. 35 It imposes
an obligation on both flag States and recycling States to take appropriate action for
compliance with the Convention by their ships and recycling facilities. 36 The
Convention also imposes on the parties a general obligation of effective implemen-
tation, compliance with, and enforcement of the Convention and also of “encourag
[ing] the continued development of technologies and practices” for green ship
recycling. 37

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27 Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 1(1).
28

See Ibid.

29

Ibid art. 1(2).

30

Second ISRWG Report, para. 15.

31

Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
34 See Ibid.
35 Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 3 (1).
36 Ibid, art. 4.
37 Ibid, arts. 1(3), 1(4).