Responsible Shipping from Shipyard to Scrapyard - Singapore Roundtable

Globally, the maritime industry tends to look at sustainability and the global development goals (SDGs) from a predominantly environmental perspective. However, from the workers in the shipyards and docks, to the seafarers across the globe and those who dismantle ships on the beaches of South Asia, the human rights risk and responsibilities apply across the entire lifecycle of a ship – from design, finance and ordering, through building and operation, to breaking/recycling. What are the drivers for change and barriers to progress in raising human rights standards throughout the lifecycle?

On 6th November 2019, IHRB, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), Anglo American and Maersk co-hosted a multi-stakeholder roundtable, ‘Responsible Shipping from Shipyard to Scrapyard’ in Singapore. This convening was informed by a series of seminars with the maritime industry - a ‘Mind the Gap’ Tour in five maritime cities in Norway during 2019, and a multi-stakeholder industry roundtable in London in May 2019 convened by the same partners. The Singapore roundtable was attended by representatives from shipping companies, their business customers, investors, maritime lawyers, Norwegian, Danish and Australian government representatives and civil society organisations. 

This meeting report outlines key points of discussion, drivers for progress, including the power of collective action and possible points of leverage; and importantly points for progress moving forward in 2020.