The Philippines is now turning its focus to ship recycling.
It is investigating the possibility of establishing a ship-scrapping industry.
It is understood that with the Indian and Bangladeshi governments both seeking to raise environmental and safety standards at home, the Philippines sees an opportunity to secure a foothold with facilities that comply with the new Hong Kong Convention.
Nikos Mikelis, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s head of marine pollution and ship recycling, says from Manila that the Philippines’ Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is keen to examine what is needed to ratify the new convention, which seeks to introduce minimum recycling standards worldwide.
Currently, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Turkey control around 97% of all ship recycling, although the Indian subcontinent dominates by far.
The Philippines sees labour-intensive scrapping as generating jobs, as well as providing the country with steel.