Scope and implementation dates
Control of hazardous materials
Surveys
Recycling


The Department of Merchant Shipping has issued a circular to owners, managers and representatives of Cyprus-flagged ships advising them of procedures for implementing the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (1257/2013).(1)

Scope and implementation dates

The regulation applies to ships of 500 gross tonnes and above that fly the flag of an EU member state and are engaged in international voyages, as well as ships that fly the flag of other countries which call at a port or anchorage of an EU member state. The regulation entered into force on December 30 2013. Apart from some relatively minor provisions which applied from December 31 2014(2) and others which will apply from December 31 2020,(3) the regulation's practical application depends on the issuance of the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities. Article 16(2) of the regulation requires the list to be published by no later than December 31 2016 and Article 32 provides that the regulation applies from six months after the date on which the combined, maximum annual ship recycling output of ship recycling facilities on the list amounts to at least 2.5 million light displacement tonnes or from December 31 2018, whichever occurs first. This effective application date could take place any time between mid-2016 and the end of 2018.

Control of hazardous materials

Article 4 of the regulation provides that the installation or use on ships of the hazardous materials listed in Annex I is prohibited or restricted. Ships must maintain an inventory of hazardous materials in accordance with the relevant International Maritime Organisation guidelines, which must be periodically verified by a recognised organisation. Following the effective application date, new ships (ie, whose building contract, keel laying or delivery occurs on or after the effective application date) will be required to have an inventory of hazardous materials onboard before they enter into service. Ships already in service will be required to have an inventory of hazardous materials onboard from December 31 2020 and ships that are destined for recycling must have an inventory of hazardous materials onboard from the date on which the list is published.

Non-EU flagged ships that call at Cyprus ports or anchorages must have an inventory of hazardous materials onboard from December 31 2020. The inventory of hazardous materials must:

  • be specific to the ship;
  • be compiled according to the relevant International Maritime Organisation guidelines; and
  • confirm that the ship complies with the regulation.

All foreign-flagged ships that call at Cyprus ports and anchorages will be subject to state control inspections and may be warned, detained, dismissed or excluded from ports or offshore terminals under Cyprus jurisdiction in the event of failure to comply with the requirements of the regulation.

Surveys

After the effective application date, Cyprus-flagged ships will be subject to:

  • an initial survey to be conducted before the ship is put in service or before an inventory certificate is issued. For existing ships, an initial survey must be completed by December 31 2020;
  • renewal surveys conducted at intervals of no longer than five years;
  • additional surveys following any modifications or repairs that affect an inventory of hazardous materials; and
  • a final survey conducted prior to the ship being taken out of service in preparation for recycling.

The surveys must be carried out by recognised organisations according to the relevant International Maritime Organisation guidelines and resolutions. For existing ships destined for recycling, an initial survey and final survey may be conducted simultaneously. After successful completion of an initial, renewal or additional survey, a recognised organisation must issue an inventory certificate, which is valid for up to five years.

Recycling

For ships to be scrapped, a recognised organisation must issue a ready-for-recycling certificate, supported by an inventory of hazardous materials and a ship recycling plan. Ready-for-recycling certificates will be valid for up to three months. They may be extended by a recognised organisation on the instructions of the Department of Merchant Shipping for a single point-to-point voyage to the ship recycling facility.

After the effective application date, owners of Cyprus-flagged vessels must ensure that their ships are recycled only at facilities included on the published list. Until then, it is recommended that they use only recycling facilities which observe appropriate and sound environmental conditions and safe working practices.

For further information on this topic please contact Vassilis Psyrras at Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC by telephone (+357 25 110 000) or email ([email protected]). The Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC website can be accessed at www.neocleous.com.

Endnotes

(1) Amending EU Waste Shipment Regulation (1013/2006) and EU Directive 2009/16/EC.

(2) Articles 2, 13, 14, 15, 16, 25 and 26, and the second subparagraph of Article 5(2).

(3) Article 5(2) (first and third subparagraphs) and Article 12(1) and (8).