Ship recycling and shipbuilding are priority areas for Norway in India, said Norway’s Ambassador Hans Jacob Frydenlund. Norway has the fifth largest commercial fleet in the world, and ship recycling is crucial both for environmental and competitive reasons. This calls for sound initiatives on ship breaking. Norway has been cooperating closely with India on this, he said.
In 2019, Norway’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs had visited ship-breaking yards in Alang, Gujarat, and urged India to join the Hong Kong convention, which India did. “We are working closely together on this issue, and to get enough countries to ratify the Hong Kong Convention, and it will be a binding legal instrument. If one more ship-breaking country — Bangladesh — joins, the convention will come into force,” he told journalists of The Hindu group.
Green shipping
India and Norway have a mutual interest in getting the convention going, and obtaining certification for ship-breaking companies in Alang. Many of Alang’s ship-breaking yards are investing in meeting standards, Frydenlund said. On November 17, this issue will be high on the agenda of the Joint Maritime Working Group (JMWG) between Norway and India in Mumbai, he said.
A high-level delegation from the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the Norwegian Maritime Authority, and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, along with several Norwegian companies, will participate in the meeting. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will lead the Indian side, according to information from the Norwegian embassy.
The three key topics for the meeting will be cooperation on green shipping and ports; ship recycling; and training of seafarers. It will seek to strengthen green maritime cooperation, besides collaborating on sustainable ship recycling in Alang
The bilateral trade between India and Norway had doubled to $2 billion in the last two years, he said.
Maritime diversity
A white paper on Indian green coastal shipping will be presented by the Norwegian company DNV, commissioned by the Norwegian Consulate General in Mumbai. Commercial cooperation in this area has been increasing in the last few years.
The Norwegian delegation will also take part in INMARCO, the green shipping conclave, and the Maritime SheEO conference, which is supported by Norway and focuses on maritime diversity and sustainability, including gender equality.
With respect to shipbuilding, there is close cooperation between Cochin Shipyard Ltd and the Norwegian ship industry with autonomous electric barges delivered to the country. “We look forward to more such initiatives in future,” the ambassador said.