Breaking up can be hard to do

GENERALLY speaking, if you break the law it is probably not a good idea to make a video of you doing it and then post it on YouTube. In a case reported by the seafarers' union Nautilus International in its monthly paper the Telegraph, a Dutch ship's master did exactly that and then found himself in trouble with a Netherlands shipping industry disciplinary panel.

Actually, I have a lot of sympathy for the master. The video showed him in command of a container ship as it was being "illegally" beached before demolition near Alang, India. That is to say, it was illegal under Dutch law which follows European Union (EU) directives.

The committee used the video evidence to find the master guilty of being in serious breach of his duties by taking the ship to India for disposal in contravention of national and European law. It noted that, because the master had not made a statement, it is not known on whose order he had beached the vessel. But the committee said that sight of the coastline in the YouTube video made it clear that the master should have understood that it would be left there for demolition. The master's certificate was suspended for a period of six months, but the suspension was deferred for a two-year probationary period. So it was a slap on the wrist, really. And of course the master did not just just take it into his head on a whim to drive his ship onto an Indian beach. He would have done so on orders. He would have been in a very difficult situation, even if he had realised he was breaking Dutch law, which he probably did not.

The Telegraph reported that Thomas van Hövell, from the Dutch law firm AKD, noted that this is the first decision from the disciplinary committee to suspend a master on these grounds. He warned: "It clearly demonstrates that the beaching for subsequent demolition of ships moved from the EU to SE India places the masters of such ships at risk of suspension if the physical breach of national and European law has been performed under the authority of such a master." Rather stating the obvious, he commented: "Posting a recording of the beaching of such vessels on YouTube clearly increases the risk of detection and suspension."

Personally, I think the EU regulations are another outrageous example of how it tramples over the rights of sovereign states. Still, the shipping industry has no choice but to adapt to the constraints placed on it. Consequently, shipping companies are strongly encouraged to use the new Transitional Measures for Shipowners Selling Ships for Recycling convention launched by a wide coalition of international shipping industry organisations.

Protecting shipowners

The purpose of the new Transitional Measures - developed by an inter-industry working group led by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - is to help shipowners ensure to the greatest extent possible that their end-of-life ships will be recycled at facilities that are compliant with the standards enshrined in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Hong Kong Convention, in advance of the global regime entering into legal force.

The Transitional Measures set out detailed advice on the preparation and maintenance of inventories of hazardous materials, as required by the IMO Convention and a separate new EU Regulation which has already entered in force and which, incredibly, has implications for non-EU ships calling at EU ports. The guidelines also address measures which shipping companies are strongly recommended to take now when selling end-of-life ships for recycling.

"The industry accepts its responsibility to promote the safe and environmentally sustainable disposal of ships in the world's ship recycling yards, the majority of which are located in developing countries," said ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe. "Adherence to these Transitional Measures should be seen as a sign of good faith prior to the entry into force of the IMO regime. But they will also help companies avoid falling foul of the separate EU ship recycling regime which started to take effect on Dec 31, and which is also relevant to ships flying non-EU flags."

The Transitional Measures were originally issued by the industry immediately after the adoption of the Hong Kong Convention in 2009, and have now been expanded to take account of subsequent detailed guidance issued by IMO. While the revised Transitional Measures take account of the new EU regime, they also reaffirm the shipping industry's support for the earliest possible entry into force of the IMO Convention.

As it always seems to be the case, governments signed up to this convention but collectively lost interest.

"The Transitional Measures demonstrate that the shipping industry is playing its full part. It is disappointing that after six years, the Hong Kong Convention has still only been ratified by a handful of IMO member states. Governments need to make this a far more urgent priority if they are serious about improving conditions in ship recycling yards on a global basis," said Mr Hinchliffe.

Of course, a lot of governments really think that what goes on within their own territories is their own business and nobody else's. Still, the new shipping industry guidelines should help shipowners and hapless masters stay out of trouble.