In a landmark and highly anticipated news late yesterday, Bangladesh finally approved the Hong Kong Convention for the safe recycling of ships and offshore assets, becoming the second sub-continent recycling location (after India) to ratify the convention.

After considerably sustained efforts and high-level meetings in Chattogram only two weeks ago, the cabinet has finally approved the resolution prior to the foreign minister signing the ratification into force and it is finally resting with the IMO.

The Hong Kong Convention (HKC) has received approval from twenty states so far. Bangladesh has recently joined this group as one of the most significant nations in the ship recycling industry to ratify the HKC. This is due to their impressive capacity and infrastructure for ship recycling, making it a noteworthy milestone for the country. This year, there have been recent upgrades in the shipyards, resulting in two more end users, bringing the total to three, receiving class NK HKC accreditation in Chittagong. These developments signify the growing recognition and compliance with the Hong Kong Convention in the region.

The next step to follow these highly encouraging developments is to get flag state approval (the Marshall Islands or Liberia) to finally get the Hong Kong Convention entered into force.