European owners will sell ships early to avoid scrapping prosecutions, GMS says

A leading cash buyer has warned that owners of European-flagged ships will sell them early to avoid strict European Union (EU) recycling rules.

Nikos Mikelis, non-executive director of Global Marketing Systems (GMS), told the TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum that this risks wasting upgrades made at Indian breakers to raise standards as long as the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) has not entered into force.