In a statement, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund NSWF said they stopped the process of removing Thoresen Thailand Agencies, which was among its investments as a corporate cooperation. On the other hand, they announced that also monitoring and examination process of Hyundai's Glovis Co. has ended as well.
NSWF said that they have been watching Bangladesh and Pakistan closely, where practices plus working conditions are "extremely poor" as shown in the recent researches when it comes to the dismantling protocols for scrap ships that are decommissioned.
According to the statements Thoresen Thailand Agencies say that they have not sent any ship to be dismantled to Bangladesh yards since 2018. Hyundai Glovis also states that they have created a new policy for the "responsible" disposal of decommissioned ships.
South Korea-based logistics company Hyundai Glovis, a subsidiary of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, works as a national and international freight transportation broker. The other company mentioned is Thoresen Thailand Agencies. Thoresen Thai Agency Public Company Limited (TTA PCL) also operates as a holding company. They, through its subsidiaries, operate in dry bulk transportation, inter-island oil and gas tanking, offshore oil and gas services, fertilizer transportation, coal mining, etc. providing services in related areas.
Norway's SWF is the world's largest among sovereign wealth funds and maintains its position as a globally exemplary leader in terms of asset value and transparency. The current value of the Norwegian wealth fund is estimated at $1.4 trillion.
The Norwegian Wealth Fund's ethics council reversed the suspensions, with companies no longer allowing such scrapping practices. Meanwhile, Hyundai Glovis introduced a new ship recycling policy and re-evaluated ship dismantling contracts with Pakistan and Bangladesh last year.
Another positive development regarding the new generation regulations in the shipbreaking sector is that the quota required for the Hong Kong Convention to enter into force in 2025 has been reached. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) accepted the convention approximately 15 years ago.
Additionally, the EU updated the list of approved ship recycling shipyards. In its latest form, most shipbreaking yards include 48 shipyard sites designated by legal regulations, most of which are located in Europe and Turkey.
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