May 2013: The Basel Convention Secretariat has released a feasibility report, titled ‘Feasibility Study for Ship Dismantling,’ which reviews what constitutes environmentally sound management in the context of ship dismantling. The study, funded through a grant from the European Commission, explores alternatives to the traditional method of ship recycling through “beaching.”

The 97-page feasibility study, called for by Basel Convention parties, includes: consultations with ship recycling facilities employing environmentally sound alternatives and with ship owners who use such facilities; a field mission to facilities employing alternative methods of ship recycling to establish the parameters of such methods; and the development of a feasibility report providing a cost estimate for the establishment and operation of model ship recycling yard. [Basel Convention Website]