Memo: Statement by Environment Commissioner Potočnik on the outcome of the trilogue on the Ship Recycling Regulation

Under the present legislation, all European ships have to be recycled inside the OECD, as they are classified as hazardous waste and therefore banned from export under the Waste Shipment Regulation.

The new Regulation implements the rules of the 2009 Hong Kong Convention for the safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The Regulation aims to improve ship recycling conditions for EU-flagged ships worldwide by prompting the upgrade of ship recycling facilities to the standards included in the Regulation.