The Merchant Shipping Directorate reminds all concerned that Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on ship recycling and amending Regulation (EC) No 1013/2016 and Directive 2009/16/EC has become applicable on 31 December 2018.

The new obligations will include:

§  Installation or use of certain Hazardous Materials will be prohibited and/or restricted;

§  New ships will be required to have on board an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) verified by the Recognized Organization and identifying at least the hazardous materials referred to in Annex II of the Regulation;

§  Existing ships and ships going for recycling will be required to have on board an IHM which shall identify, at a minimum, the hazardous materials listed in Annex I of the Regulation;

§  Existing ships will be required to have the IHM on board as from 31st December 2020;

§  Ships that are marked for recycling have been required, as far as practicable, to have an IHM on board since 19 December 2016;

§  Ships falling within the scope of the Regulation may only be recycled at facilities that are included in the approved European list;

§  Maltese flagged ships will also be subject to an initial survey, a renewal survey at intervals not exceeding 5 years and a final survey.

To read the complete Merchant Shipping Notice 147, click here.