A group of top shipowners have signed up to the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative in a bid to crack down on environmentally irresponsible shipbreaking practices.
Backed by Forum for the Future, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, the first owners to sign up to the new initiative are A.P. Moller Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, China Navigation and Norden.
The initiative aims to facilitate the voluntary disclosure of detailed ship recycling data by shipowners and ensure financial stakeholders, shipping operators, and cargo owners are better informed about how ships are processed at the end of their life.
The group, which also includes class society Lloyd’s Register, said it is developing a common set of disclosure criteria and an independent, user friendly online platform where shipowners will be able to share critical information that will be accessible to investors, customers and the wider public.
“We see increasing levels of transparency as a key lever for change in ship recycling,” said Stephanie Draper, chief change officer at Forum for the Future. “If shipowners share their practices then it raises awareness of what’s happening, puts pressure on under-performers and allows customers and owners to reward good performance. Ultimately this will lead to better social and environmental outcomes which are so critical for ship recycling.”
Four in five ships scrapped last year were on the beaches of the Indian Sub-Continent, a statistic one NGO Shipbreaking Platform has blasted as “shameful”.
