EU Parliament throws out recycling levy

The tax, put forward by the EU’s environment committee to be inserted into draft EU legislation,was voted down by 299 to 292, with the parliament calling instead for an “incentive-based system” to encourage responsible ship recycling.

The proposal would consist of a levy on ships of all flags calling at European ports in order to fund vessel recycling. The proposal has drawn criticism from many prominent shipping groups, notably International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA), Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF), which have branded the move “an unacceptable tax on trade”, “seriously damaging to the Hong Kong Convention” and “astounding and incomprehensible”.

"We're pleased with the outcome," said John Stawpert, senior adviser on environment and trade at ICS, "But there's s still a lot in the ambitions of the European Parliament draft that is at odds with the Hong Kong convention. Without the Hong Kong convention we won't have a mechanism to improve global shipping recycling practices."

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