Members are advised that the European Commission has published Guidelines on the enforcement of obligations under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation relating to the Inventory of Hazardous Materials of vessels operating in European waters, which can be found at the following website:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:JOC_2020_349_R_0001 

This is a positive development which acknowledges the disruption to the development of Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHM) caused by the COVID 19 pandemic and seeks to ensure a harmonised approach to enforcement by European Port State Control (PSC) authorities from 1st January 2021. It is reiterated that responsibility for compliance lies with the shipowner, but that the exception circumstances of the pandemic may create situations in which compliance is not possible.

The Guidance recommends that in situations where a ship is unable to comply with the IHM requirements, the owner or master, should provide evidence that all possible measures were taken to undertake the work and get the certification required. Such evidence may include e.g. a service contract for sampling or a survey. It may also include a justification as to why it was not possible to obtain a part-completed IHM and associated certificate, including evidence of the impossibility to comply with other elements of the certification than the on-board inspection. The PSC inspector will adjudge whether the evidence is acceptable on a case- by-case basis depending on the specific circumstances of the vessel in question. In the event that the evidence is accepted, they should specify that the documents should be completed and approved within 4 months after the inspection and, a warning will be issued to the vessel, whilst the inspection result and warning will be registered in the ship recycling module of THETIS – EU.