Study On The Legal Issues Related To Prevention Of Pollution Of The Environment In Ship Recycling

It is a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to deal with the end-of-life ships when they finish their lives and are sent for recycling. Ship recycling is the reverse process of shipbuilding and it mainly scraps and recycles the materials in old ships which are reusable, including scrap steel and non-ferrous metals, electrical appliances, life-saving equipments, etc. Undoubtedly, if operations are performed properly, ship recycling industry is a "green" industry, and the principles and purposes of ship recycling are also very positive. The development of ship recycling industry is of great significance for the development of a country's industry.However, as the scrapped ships always carry some oily water and wastes, even some hazards substances, improper handling may cause pollution to the environment, and may even impair the health of people directly or indirectly. Therefore, a country that intends to develop ship recycling industry should have a set of complete legal provisions on prevention of pollution in ship recycling. Presently, a set of legal provisions has been established in our country, nevertheless, due to the development of economy and society, the current provisions can't meet the requirement of prevention of pollution in ship recycling. Therefore, it is essential to study on the legal provisions in this respect, to find out the deficiencies and put forward recommendations.Above all, this paper makes an overview of ship recycling, and tries to make the ship recycling industry understood preliminarily from the past, the present and the prospects. Basing on this, it introduces the present ship recycling models in the world and analyzes the risk of pollution in ship recycling industry. After that, it states and reviews the international relevant provisions, in particular the latest international legislation, the "Ship Recycling Convention", including the background of the convention and the important regulations provided in the convention. Following this, the provisions in separate countries on prevention of pollution in ship recycling is illustrated. Then the paper introduces and reviews the domestic legislation related with ship recycling. Eventually, through analyzing, it points out the deficiencies in the existing provisions of our country, and sets forward proposals according to the provisions of the Ship Recycling Convention.