The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China Brews New Regulations on Environmental Protection Management of Imported Hulks

Under the new situation, in order to strengthen the management of imported hulks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China plans to come out with the Regulations on Environmental Protection Management of Imported Hulks, and has sought advice from 14 entities, including the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the Ministry of Commerce of China, the General Administration of Customs of China, the China National Shiprecycling Association, the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering of Tsinghua University, and so on. The exposure draft of the Regulations puts forward 9 restrictions on the processing enterprises of imported hulks, including: the enterprises shall have the facilities, equipments and places specially stipulated for shipbreaking, and supporting facilities and measures for pollution prevention, which shall be eligible in the evaluation of the local provincial authority in charge of the administration of environmental protection; the import quantity applied shall be compatible with the processing capacity, the port of importation shall comply with the nearby principle and relevant state administrative regulations on ports; in the past two years, the enterprises conducted no acts specified in the Regulations that violate laws and regulations such as the Environmental Protection Law. In the meantime, the Regulations have also listed the certification materials that shall be submitted on the first application for hulks importation.

According to Mr. Yan Heming, the Head of China National Shiprecycling Association, while making demands in the green and standardized behaviors of the shipbreaking enterprises, the Regulations shall also consider aspects such as improving the administrative efficiency, simplifying approval procedures and easing the burden of enterprises so as to promote the sustained and healthy development of the shipbreaking enterprises.