Published on: 19 August 2020
The EU ship recycling regulations part 1 came into force in December 2018 requiring all EU flagged new builds to have an Inventory of Hazardous Material (IHM).
From December 2020, the IHM requirement will be rolled out to all existing EU/UK flagged vessels which the regulations are applicable to, as well as non-EU/UK flagged vessels visiting EU ports.
The regulations apply to all vessels apart from:
- Ships of less than 500 gross tonnage (GT)
- Ships operating throughout their life only in waters subject to the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the member state whose flag the ship is flying
- Any warships, naval auxiliary, or other ships owned or operated by a state and used, for the time being, only on Government non-commercial service.
Although the UK has now left the EU and the transition period comes to an end in January 2021, the EU ship recycling regulations have been transposed into UK law through SI 2018 No.1122. Due to the regulation being transposed, there are no significant changes in the application of the EU Regulation or the UK Regulations for ship recycling following the UK’s exit from the EU.
MGN 633 provides guidance on the interpretation of UK Statutory Instrument (SI) 2018 No.1122, The Ship Recycling (Requirements in relation to Hazardous Materials on Ships). Regulations 2018 (referred to as “the UK Regulations”).
MGN 633 can be downloaded here.