Hong Kong Convention Vs. Basel Convention – A Step Further

The misalignment between the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling and the Basel Convention on hazardous waste poses a risk that vessels sold, exported and recycled under the former could breach the export prohibitions of the latter.

Keen readers of the Nordisk Circular will remember our article from March this year, in which we highlighted the current lack of interplay between the Hong Kong Convention for Safe and Environmentally Friendly Recycling of Ships (the “HKC”), set to enter into force on 26 June 2025, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the “Basel Convention”). The issue is that, as matters stand today, there is a risk that a vessel being sold, exported, and recycled in accordance with the HKC may represent a breach of the export prohibition under the Basel Convention.

In our March article, we pointed out that this situation is unsatisfactory and risks undermining compliance with the HKC. This point was also raised by Bangladesh, India, Norway, Pakistan, ICS, and BIMCO on 25 January 2024, where these countries expressed the need for legal clarity and certainty to ensure that operating in compliance with the HKC will not be sanctioned as a violation of the Basel Convention.

With the entry into force of the HKC rapidly approaching, it is becoming increasingly urgent to find a solution. We are, therefore, pleased to note that this issue was addressed at the 82nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), conducted at the IMO’s headquarters in London from 30 September to 4 October 2024.

Ahead of the meeting, the IMO Secretariat prepared a guidance document during the summer of 2024 on the interplay between the HKC and the Basel Convention. In short, this guidance provided a draft for the Committee to approve, outlining a possible way forward in establishing alignment between the HKC and the Basel Convention.

The guidance proposed that states party to both the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention, including those that have expressed consent to be bound by the Ban Amendment[1], and who believe that the provisions of the Basel Convention should not affect transboundary movements conducted under the HKC, may consider notifying the Basel Convention Secretariat as follows:

“In accordance with Article 11 of the Basel Convention, the Basel Convention Secretariat is hereby notified that the [name of the state that is a party to both the Hong Kong Convention and the Basel Convention] is a party to the [HKC] and will apply the Hong Kong Convention’s requirements with respect to transboundary movements of ships intended to be recycled at a ship recycling facility authorized in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention and situated under the jurisdiction of a party to the Hong Kong Convention. Relevant arrangements have been made to ensure environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes (arising from ship recycling) as required by the Basel Convention. Consequently, the provisions of the Basel Convention shall not affect transboundary movements which take place pursuant to the Hong Kong Convention.”

This approach is grounded in Article 11 of the Basel Convention, which stipulates that the Basel Convention may not apply to any bilateral, multilateral, or regional agreements, “… provided that such agreements or arrangements do not derogate from the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes or other wastes as required by this Convention”. The guidance suggests that the HKC qualifies as such an agreement, as it does not derogate from the sound management of hazardous wastes as required by the Basel Convention.

At the meeting, the Committee approved the provisional guidance as described above. If proven workable, this solution could address the lack of alignment between the HKC and the Basel Convention, allowing the HKC to take precedence.

However, while this is clearly a step in the right direction, we anticipate further discussions at COP-17[2] to the Basel Convention about whether the HKC “derogates from the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes or other wastes as required [by the Basel Convention].” If the Basel Convention Secretariat concludes that the HKC does indeed derogate from the standards required by the Basel Convention, then there is a risk of the lack of interplay materializing again, and we will essentially be back to square one.

[1] https://www.basel.int/Implementation/LegalMatters/BanAmendment/Overview/tabid/1484/Default.aspx

[2] Due to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 28 April to 9 May 2025

Author Ola Granhus Mediås, lawyer