Panama to ratify Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling

In a boost for the hopes of entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling Panama is set for ratification.

In a meeting with International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Secretary-General Ki-tak Lim, Panama’s Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), Jorge Barakat, said, “Panama had decided to approve the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling.”

He said the bill that was in the National Assembly has been approved and waiting for President Varela’s signature to enter into force.

The meeting took place during the 116 session of the IMO Council, where Panama is a Category A member.

However Panama is still evaluating whether to ratify the Ballast Water Convention and though it has been presented to the National Assembly the process of approving the bill may take some months. Panama said its decisions on the above instruments demonstrate the country’s commitment to further enhance the adoption of measures for the protection of the marine environment.

In relation to the implementation of amendments to regulation VI/2 of the SOLAS Convention regarding requiring container weighting as regulated by the Convention, Barakat said the measures had been enforced on 1 July 2016 and that Panama was now in full compliance with the SOLAS amendments.

The country handled 6.7million TEUs in 2015.

Panama’s Ship Registry, which is the world’s largest international registry with 8,071 vessels and 218.5million gt according to IHS Global, will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.

“Many things have changed and are in process of changing for the international registries,” Lim told Barakat. “Performance and quality are essential.”