NYK has certified PHP Ship Recycling Facility in Bangladesh for meeting NYK’s standards for ship-recycling measures pertaining to the environment, safety, occupational health, and respect for human rights. PHP Ship Recycling Facility, which is a ship-recycling facility operated by PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Ltd., has become the first yard in Bangladesh to be certified by NYK. In early March, an NYK Group vessel entered PHP Ship Recycling Facility to be dismantled.
Ships contain a large amount of high-quality iron, and appropriate disposal of valuable recyclable resources is important for the realization of a circular economy. Additionally, the minimization of environmental pollution and industrial accidents when ships are dismantled has been an issue receiving attention. The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, or simply the Hong Kong Convention, was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2009. Classification societies, such as Japan’s ClassNK, act as substitute authorities of ships’ flag states by issuing statements of compliance to yards that meet the standards determined in the convention.
The NYK Group sends supervisors to yards that have been certified by classification societies to confirm that the yards also meet NYK’s stricter standards. NYK conducts ship recycling at these certified yards, which currently total 30 in India, three in China, and one in Turkey. During the vessel dismantling at PHP Ship Recycling Facility, a supervisor sent from our group’s ship-management company monitors the process.
NYK was the first Japanese shipping company to participate in the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI), an information-disclosure platform concerning the ship recycling process. NYK also became the first Japanese company to become a signatory of the UN Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles. In the future, the NYK Group will deepen dialogues with stakeholders through participation in initiatives concerning the environment, safety, and human rights. The NYK Group will also promote ship-recycling at yards that meet the standards of the Hong Kong Convention and NYK, and aim to realize a sustainable society and environment.