Hong Kong Convention: Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships

The Hong Kong Convention aims to ensure that the recycling of ships, after the end of their operational lives, does not cause unnecessary risks to human and environmental health and safety. Ships contain a wide range of toxic and hazardous substances, including asbestos, heavy metals and hydrocarbons. The Hong Kong Convention aims to ensure decent and safe working conditions at ship recycling facilites, and also sets out provisions for new vessels to be constructed in ways and using materials that facilitate safe recycling. The Hong Kong Convention was developed in line with the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (a global convention not specific to ocean or maritime industries), and in cooperation with the International Labour Organization. It was adopted in 2009 and came into force in 2025.