One-day workshop on “entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention – The way forward “

An One-Day Workshop on “Entry into Force of the Hong Kong Convention – The Way Forward” was jointly organised by the Directorate General of Shipping and Gujarat Maritime Board partnering with the Ship Recycling Industries Association, Bhavnagar and the Institute of Marine Engineers India at Bhavnagar, Gujarat on 30th June 2025. The event had a huge response attended by various stake holders of the Ship Recycling industry welcoming the arrival of HKC in Ship Recycling.

The event, marked the historic enforcement of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC). Welcome address of the event was provided by the Vice Chairman & CEO of Gujarat Maritime Board. Rajkumar Beniwal, IAS. The event was attended by Officials from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Directorate General of Shipping, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), local District Administration, Regulatory bodies involved in Ship Recycling and members from Ship Recycling industry associations, Representatives of Classification societies, Trade Unions and Workers association and other related stakeholders.

 Chief Guest Shyam Jagannathan, IAS, Director General of Shipping during his address emphasized the need  of  Cooperation between the National Authority and the Competent Authority and called upon GMB for a five point mechanism towards developing a structured digital platform interface towards seamless coordination  including compliance verification and  third-party inspections,  to share GMB’s long-term Master Plan on expansion activities along the Alang-Sosia belt, including proposals for TSDF facility development, Institutionalize training programmes for capacity-building of workers  and to impart training along with a structured course for sustainable recycling, to include  the successful Wellness and Inclusion Initiatives  of seafarers such as “Sagar Mei Yog,” and “Sagar Mei Samman,” aimed at focusing on improving the physical and mental wellness  & promoting gender equality extended to the ship recycling workforce , to establish an annual forum hosted by GMB bringing together national and international stakeholders to discuss best practices, innovations, and compliance pathways in ship recycling and also requested Detailed Project Reports from GMB for coordinated implementation with local authorities to enhance social and public infrastructure, focusing on improving the living conditions, health services, and overall welfare of workers engaged in ship recycling activities. The need of Standardization of the activities in Ship recycling was also emphasized.

The felicitation address during the event was provided by Ajithkumar Sukumaran, Chief Surveyor cum Additional Director General (Engg) hailed Ship recycling as a Nation building activity and the transformation it brings in to Social, Cultural and Environmental aspects of the Country. He further highlighted the economics of Ship recycling; Circular economy achieved due to Ship Recycling and the significance of implementation of HKC. Vipul Singhal, IRTS, Director, MoPSW during his address spoke about the initiatives taken up by the Ministry, Santosh Kumar Darokar, Principal Officer, MMD, Kandla expressed the difficulties faced by crew of vessels calling Alang and stressed the need of adequate care. District Collector Bhavnagar Dr.Manish kumar IAS, Vishnukumar Gupta, President of SRIA and David Birwadkar, Chairman of Institute of Marine Engineers, India (IMEI) Mumbai Chapter spoke welcoming the HKC.

During the event a Presentation on Ship Recycling in Alang highlighting the infrastructure development undertaken and futuristic plan was provided by Rajkumar Beniwal IAS, Vice Chairman & CEO, GMB. Subsequently a Presentation on Material Recovery from Ship Recycling was provided by Shri Haresh Parmar, Secretary of SRIA which highlighted the environmental benefits achieved due to Ship recycling. 

Presentations on HKC Compliance & EU Preparedness of Alang Yards were provided by Shri Satish Singh COO of Priya Blue Industries and Shri Uday Agarwal, Director Alang Auto Engineering and Shri Rohit Agarwal of GGSBY industries Private Ltd.

A Presentation on HKC Implementation highlighting the existing, upcoming regulatory frame work in Ship Recycling, roles and responsibilities of various agencies involved in Ship Recycling, the experience building phase of IMO and the futuristic steps that are to be undertaken by the stake holders was provided by Shri Gopi Krishna.C, Engineer & Ship Surveyor cum DDG (Tech), DGS, Mumbai.  The event also had presentations from leading Classification societies involved in inspection and Certification of Ship Recycling. Amol Bande, Senior Surveyor, Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) towards the Safety and training aspects required towards implementation of HKC, Shobhit Kapoor, Marine Operations Manager, South East Asia West Lloyds Register Marine and Offshore services India LLP towards Challenges in upstream and downstream management of hazardous material and Ashish Matta, Manager, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK) on HKC implementation and the next challenge in the transformation of Ship Recycling industry focusing on preparation of IHM with a web-based system.

The event was attended by Gopinandan. P, Engineer & Ship Surveyor, MMD, Kandla moderated by Sanjeev Mehra, the Honorary Secretary of IMEI Mumbai Chapter. Capt Rakesh Mishra, Port Officer, Alang provided the Vote of thanks of the event.