Hong Kong: The new IMO convention for "Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships" is going to be adopted at a diplomatic conference here in Hong Kong later this month, the first such high-level meeting of the UN agency to take place in Asia.
Germanischer Lloyd comments that the convention is expected to come into force around 2013, and will require approximately 50,000 ships worldwide to have a certified "Inventory of Hazardous Materials" (IHM) on board, listing hazardous materials present in structure and equipment. For preparing the IHM, shipowners will have to involve so-called Hazardous Material Experts (HazMat Experts).
But with all these certifications required to be completed within five years, i.e. at an average rate of 10,000 a year, the classification society warns of a impending 'bottleneck' with not enough approved HazMat Experts available to meet demand. For this reason the GL Academy has begun teaching four-day courses leading to award of a "GL-Approved HazMat Expert' qualification. Initially held in Hamburg, courses will later be rolled out in Asia and other parts of the world. [04/05/09]
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