Greener Ship Recycling in China
How can shipyards and supplier address the challenges arising from the new International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships after its development has been finalized by the IMO? More than 40 engineers and technicians from suppliers and shipyards across China attended the Germanischer Lloyd (GL) training course Ship Recycling for Shipyards and Suppliers.
The course, delivered in early November through GL Academy China, is aimed to get the major stakeholders fully prepared for the new convention, both theoretically and practically. “We’ve received quite a number of requests from Chinese shipyards, ship owners and suppliers for such a training and I am glad to say that we’re the first classification society in China that takes such an initiative”, said Mr. Gao Wenyan, Manager GL Academy China, “Our training is informative and up-to-date, guaranteed by our specially compiled training materials.” Trainer Mr. Henning Gramann, Head of Ship Recycling at GL added: “Today, GL is offering a full service in line with the upcoming Hong Kong Convention and thus can support full compliance at an early stage, before the foreseeable bottleneck arises.”
The training course focuses on the Hong Kong Convention that was adopted this May at IMO’s diplomatic conference in Hong Kong. It effects new and existing vessels above 500 GT and clearly defines the responsibilities for suppliers, ship owners and shipyards. With entry into force about 50 000 existing ships are required to have a certified IHM (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) within five years. All new ships will have to comply at the date of delivery, which requires the whole supply chain to be prepared as well. Already today the demand for IHMs is rising, for new ships as well as for existing ships. The process of preparation of IHMs for new ships lies in the hands of shipyards and their suppliers.
In addition, interactive case studies were conducted to familiarize the participants with some hands-on skills, such as, how to fill in Materials Declarations, how to prepare an Inventory of Hazardous Materials with received information, etc. To reduce time and efforts for IHM preparation and maintenance, GL has developed the software tool “GL IDOC”, easing the fulfillment of various legal requirements throughout the whole life-cycle of ships.
Besides various training courses, GL provides solutions for all aspects of the emerging requirements of the Hong Kong Convention, including IHM Certification, HazMat Expert training and approval (necessary for IHM preparation for existing ships, Materials Declaration Consulting and suppliers, gap analyses and certification of ship recycling facilities.