The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships entered into force on 26 June 2025. Ships at the end of their operational lives must now be recycled in a safe and environmentally sustainable way.
The Hong Kong Convention, developed under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), covers the following:
‘The entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention this year marks a watershed moment in our shared objective to promote sustainable and safe ship recycling practices globally,’ says IMO Secretary-General, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez. ‘This achievement reflects years of dedicated work and will renew out drive to safeguard human health and the environment in this critical industry.’
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Most ships are recycled when they are taken out of operation, with almost all materials and equipment from the ship being re-used or recycled. The Hong Kong Convention addresses key environmental, occupational health, and safety risks involved in the recycling of ships, while distributing responsibilities and obligations across relevant stakeholders – shipowners, shipyards, ship recycling facilities, flag States, port States and recycling States.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and European Shipowners | ECSA have both welcomed the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships entering into force. Both organisations have been advocating for the Hong Kong Convention to come into force since adoption at IMO to ensure international safe and sustainable ship recycling processes.
Thomas A. Kazakos, Secretary General of the ICS: ‘Now that the Hong Kong Convention has entered into force we can look forward to even more progress in improving ship recycling around the world. As the industry pushes forward on its decarbonisation journey the lifespan of the merchant fleet is likely to reduce, through global instruments such as the Hong Kong Convention we can progress, safely, efficiently and sustainably. A global industry needs global regulations.’
‘We now need to build on this foundation and further strengthen the Hong Kong Convention to raise the bar and continue to make meaningful progress towards safe and sustainable ship recycling practices,’ adds Sotiris Raptis, Secretary General, European Shipowners | ECSA. ‘One global standard is essential to deliver environmentally sound and safe ship recycling and to ensure the competitiveness of European shipping.’
To support developing countries, IMO has organised various workshops on ship recycling to raise awareness of the Convention internationally. In addition, IMO has been actively working with countries to help build their capacity and establish the conditions that will enable them to ratify and effectively implement the Convention.
This includes the ongoing project on Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling (SENSREC Project), established with financial support from the Government of Norway. The project provides comprehensive support to countries, ranging from policy alignment, creation of institutional mechanisms and governance systems, to capacity development related to sustainable technical, social and environmental practices. SENSREC is currently active in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
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The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference held in Hong Kong, China, in May 2009. The requirements for its entry-into-force were reached in 2023, with the Convention taking effect 24 months later, on 26 June 2025. Several ship recycling nations have already been implementing the Convention’s technical standards on a voluntary basis.
Currently, there are 24 parties to the Convention, including major flag states such as Japan, Liberia, the Marshall Islands and Panama, as well as four major ship recycling countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye. Altogether they cover 57.15 per cent of the world’s shipping by tonnage.
The Convention was developed under the auspices of IMO, with input from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and in co-operation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
