SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 — China's Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Marine Service Co., Ltd. has become the world's second ship recycling facility to receive a Statement of Compliance (SoC) confirming that it is in compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.

Toshitomo Matsui, Executive Vice President: ClassNK (right) hands the SoC to Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Marine Service Co. CEO Sun De Lin.

The SoC was issued by classification society ClassNK, which also issued to the world's first such SoC in December 2012 to another Chinese facility, Jiangmen Zhongxin Shipbreaking & Steel Co., Ltd.

Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Marine Service Co.'s Changxing Island plant was originally established as a ship repair yard, but the 500,000 sq.m plant and its dry docks are now being used for ship recycling. Its annual 1,000,000 million LDT recycling capacity is among China's largest.

The yard developed its Ship Recycling Facility Plan (SRFP) in preparation for the Hong Kong convention.

An SRFP is required by the competent authorities when authorizing a ship recycling facility as complying with the convention. As an independent third party organization, ClassNK confirmed that the SRFP met the requirements of the convention, and that the facility is carrying out recycling according to its SRFP.