INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

LAW REVIEW
International Community Law Review 15 (2013) 255–257 brill.com/iclr

Book Review

Tony George Puthucherril, From Shipbreaking to Sustainable Ship Recycling –

Evolution of a Legal Regime, ISBN 978-90-04-17491-7, (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 2010), xvi + 290 pp.

The adoption of the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally
Sound Recycling of Ships in Hong Kong in May 2009 was met with much antic-
ipation. It was hoped that this Convention would represent a comprehensive
instrument which would bring together and build upon legal obligations and
standards promulgated in various fora to foster a ship recycling industry which
would conduct its operations with due regard for human health and the environ-
ment, while remaining the financial boon that it is for many ship recycling coun-
tries. Yet nearly four years since its adoption, the Convention has been signed by
only five countries and its prospects for entry into force remain uncertain. What
is the basis for such reticence? Dr. Puthucherril’s book, promptly published as the
first substantive work on the Convention, provides some answers.
The book is made up of four parts. At the outset, Dr. Puthucherril helpfully
disentangles the complex web of stakeholders in the ship recycling industry. He
explains with great clarity the process by which a ship is rendered to the recycling
yard, and the interests of the great number of actors who play a role in this trans-
action. The author also illustrates the hazardous nature of the process of breaking
a ship, both in terms of risks borne by the labour force and the consequences
to the environment. An overview of the industry in the primary ship recycling
countries, namely India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the dilemma faced by
ship owning countries that wish to have their ships recycled but are aware of the
risks posed by poor practices in some ship recycling yards, quickly establishes that
this is an issue which cannot simply be addressed through national regulation,
but one which requires a concerted global response.
The second and third parts of the book provide an overview of the efforts to
regulate ship breaking at the national and international levels. The author princi-
pally focuses on the efforts by the legislative and judiciary of India to regulate the
practices of the industry. The author’s emphasis on India is, to some extent,
understandable given the distinct paucity of information available about the
extent of the ship recycling activities in Pakistan and the regulatory efforts in
Bangladesh. However the desire to learn more about developments in the
countries which command the lion’s share of the ship recycling market is left

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013 DOI: 10.1163/18719732-12341251

256 Book Review / International Community Law Review 15 (2013) 255–257

somewhat unsatisfied. Nevertheless the role played by the judiciary of India in

regulating ship recycling practices provides significant fodder for discussion. Of
particular interest is the author’s review of the jurisprudence of the Supreme
Court of India, demonstrating the increasingly active role the judiciary has played
on matters relating to environmental protection in the wake of the Bhopal disas-
ter. The Hazardous Waste Management case and the establishment by the Supreme
Court of the High Powered Committee on the Management of Hazardous Waste
led the way for the Supreme Court to play a more central role in the regulation
of the impact of ship recycling activities on human rights and the environment.
The author’s summary and analysis of the Guidelines on Sustainable Ship Recy-
cling developed by the Indian Supreme Court and the Report of the Committee
of Technical Experts and the effects of the controversy surrounding the disman-
tling of the “Riky”, the “Clemenceau” and the “Blue Lady” on such Guidelines is
particularly detailed and insightful. The author also provides an overview of the
various existing legal standards and guidelines adopted by the international com-
munity, which predate the International Convention, which apply to ship recy-
cling activities, thereby equipping the reader with an appreciation of the
fragmented legal landscape of existing obligations and commitments against
which the International Convention was negotiated.
The fourth part of the book, perhaps the highlight of Dr. Puthucherril’s trea-
tise, is the author’s analysis of the International Convention. The author unpacks
the intricacies of the Convention with a great deal of clarity, and positions the
Convention within the field of existing standards established by the Basel Con-
vention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and the Interna-
tional Labour Organization and the International Maritime Organization. In so
doing, the author offers a critical analysis of the International Convention and
assesses the adequacy of the instrument in providing an equivalent level of con-
trol and enforcement established within other international fora and its effective-
ness in addressing the longstanding problems in the industry should it assume the
position of the sole legal regime regulating ship recycling activities.
Dr. Puthucherril’s ultimate thesis is that there are a number of features in the
International Convention which should be applauded. The Convention embod-
ies a holistic control system which takes the significant step of identifying those
actors which will bear the responsibility for ensuring that the ship is recycled in a
manner which limits damage to the environment and human health. The Con-
vention also puts in place a comprehensive control system for certification and
verification to ensure that ship recycling facilities are authorized and that there
is sufficient information about the hazardous materials contained in a ship des-
tined for recycling so that appropriate safeguards can be taken. Furthermore,
the International Convention adopts a “cradle to grave approach” to ship recy-
cling, thereby establishing a system which regulates the design of a ship, its oper-
ation, its decommissioning and deconstruction. Despite attracting a great deal of
 Book Review / International Community Law Review 15 (2013) 255–257 257

scepticism from many stakeholders during negotiations, the International Con-

vention takes the significant step of prohibiting parties from using ship recycling
facilities of non-parties, thereby creating incentives for ship recycling countries to
ratify the Convention. Nevertheless, the author recognizes that there are a num-
ber of weaknesses in the International Convention which may serve to hamper its
ultimate effectiveness. In particular, the author considers that the Convention
does not equitably spread the burden of compliance amongst those who benefit
most from the ship during its lifetime, instead it lumbers much of the responsibil-
ity on the flag States and ship recycling States, ignoring the “polluter pays prin-
ciple”. The author also foresees a number of practical difficulties in implementing
the Convention, noting that there is a distinct need for technical assistance and
cooperation to increase the capabilities of ship recycling countries to meet their
obligations under the Convention.
In addition to providing students, policy makers and practitioners, wishing to
understand the complex business of ship recycling and the legal regime to regu-
late such practices, with a rich and valuable resource, Dr. Puthucherril also offers
his assessment of the sufficiency of the legal standards in place and his ideas
on how law and practice can be improved to promote a more sustainable
ship recycling industry. This book therefore encourages greater reflection on steps
that can already be taken to improve the practices employed in the ship recycling
industry so as to forestall more damage to the environment and health, pending
entry into force of the International Convention, and to create enabling condi-
tions for the eventual implementation of the Convention upon its entry into
force.

Melissa Su Thomas
Washington, DC, USA