Recycling of Ships - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 93

transboundary movement of government ships for disposal. In recent times, at least
two serious incidents relating to transboundary movement of obsolete government
ships have occurred, namely the US Ghost Ships 93 and Le Clemenceau. 94 This issue
should be reconsidered in the future development of the international legal regime.

5.5.4 Prior Informed Consent and Equivalent Level
of Control to Basel

The Convention introduced a notification and reporting system for proper imple-
mentation of the Convention. A ship owner has to “notify the Administration . . . of
the intention to recycle a ship in order to enable the Administration to prepare for
the survey and certification required by this Convention.” 95 Again, a recycling
facility preparing to receive a ship for recycling has to notify its government and
provide all necessary information. 96 While ratifying the Convention, a party “shall
declare whether it requires explicit or tacit approval of the Ship Recycling Plan
before a ship may be recycled in its authorised Ship Recycling Facility(ies)”. 97
The Basel Convention incorporated prior informed consent (PIC) as a compul-
sory requirement in all situations. 98 The IMO Convention has introduced an
optional procedure for prior approval of a ship recycling plan. 99 This procedure is
significantly different from the PIC procedure. The IMO Convention is silent
regarding the status of any ship arriving at the recycling facility of a country
without prior informed consent. The Basel Convention imposes a clear obligation
on the exporting country to re-import, or otherwise arrange, to dispose of a ship
with hazardous substances onboard if it arrives or is going to arrive in a country
without prior consent. 100 Moreover, the IMO Convention is also silent about the
transit States right to prohibit the movement of a ship. 101 '

93 See Noland ( 2006 ), Campbell ( 2004 ), and Luster ( 2000 ).
94 See Orellana, above note 82, 206.
95 Recycling of Ships Convention, Annex, reg. 24(1).
96 Recycling of Ships Convention, Annex, reg. 24(2).
97 Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 16(6). According to an earlier draft of this Convention, a
state may declare that “a ship may not be recycled in its territory unless it ' s competent authority
has received notification of the intent to recycle such ship, and that competent authority, after a
review period not exceeding [fourteen] days following the date of the registered reception of such
notification, has not objected to such recycling.” Later this provision was substantially changed.
See Report of the Working Group on Ship Recycling, Annex 1, art. 16(6), IMO Doc. MEPC
57/WP.6 (3 April 2008) (hereinafter MEPC 57/WP.6).
98

See Basel Convention, arts. 4(1)(c), 4(2)(f).
99 Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 16(6), Annex, reg. 9.4.
100 Basel Convention, art. 9(2).
101 According to Greenpeace, “[t]o begin to be even remotely equivalent to the Basel Convention
regime, States must have the sovereign right to deny the onward movement of a ship to a recycling
destination.” MEPC 55/3/7, para. 29.