Deadline Approaches for New EU Ship Recycling Regulations

New European ship recycling regulations enter into force at the end of the year – but the current tough market conditions, compounded by the delay in decision making caused by the work-from-home situation in the Coronavirus pandemic, has meant that many shipowners are still to undertake the necessary work to be compliant with the legislation.

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EUsRR) stipulates that all ships over 500 GRT - which call at EU ports - must have a Statement of Compliance (SoC) demonstrating that they have an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) onboard. Current estimates indicate that, of the expected 20,000 ships which will need to comply with the Regulation before December 31, 2020, more than a third have yet to begin on the road to compliance.

Obtaining an IHM for a vessel requires an expert company to sample the ship for hazardous materials. A “mini-industry” of individuals and small expert companies has emerged, offering IHM services. For shipowners, the challenge is how to carry out adequate due diligence to find a suitable IHM company, while meeting the requirement to get the job done as soon as possible. 

One company which has gained considerable industry recognition in this field by a number of major shipowners is Centre Testing International (CTI). Experts in the supervision of ship recycling, the company specializes in surveying and removing asbestos from ships, as well as assisting shipowners with IHM preparation.

CTI has over the years undertaken numerous projects for several major shipowners such as CMA CGM, Euronav, Maersk Line, Maersk Drilling, Pioneer Marine and Stolt Tankers. For CMA CGM, CTI provided a one-stop shop, carrying out a full range of essential services, including newbuilding surveys, targeted sampling during docking periods, removal of asbestos, IHM preparation, ship recycling supervision and asbestos management audits of suppliers. The quality of CTI’s expertise was praised by CMA CGM’s Safety Officer, who highlighted “the excellent work and assistance provided by CTI teams since we started working together.”

Greek Shipowner Pioneer Marine, in complimenting CTI on their work, reiterated their satisfaction with the CTI service quality and professionalism, together with their ability to meet deadlines and to respond to the various operational constraints.

Commenting on the accolades received from these two customers, John Ren Di, General Manager of CTI, said: “As a third-party Marine Expert, CTI Marine Services has a highly qualified motivated marine technical team and always pursues high quality service with positive action. We appreciate our clients’ continuing support - and we welcome reciprocity initiatives to further mutual advantage.”