About
The Basel Convention intends to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries.
In 1995, the Convention was supplemented by the so-called Basel Ban Amendment. The Ban Amendment prohibits countries listed in Annex VII (EU and OECD members, plus Liechtenstein) from exporting hazardous wastes intended for final disposal, reuse, recycling or recovery operations, to countries not included in Annex VII.
The Basel Convention also seeks to limit all transboundary movements between the parties to the Convention.
In 2019, amendments were made to Annexes II, VIII, and IX. The objective was to enhance the control of transboundary movements of plastic waste. These amendments entered into force on 1 January 2021.
Breaches of the Basel Convention may lead to criminal sanctions in many jurisdictions.
Prior to the Hong Kong Convention entered into force on 26 June 2025, there were calls for the IMO to ensure consistency between the two conventions by e.g. BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping and a number of signatory states.
The problem is that once a vessel has received an International Ready for Recycling Certificate under the Hong Kong Convention and is intended to be recycled in line with the Hong Kong Convention, it may simultaneously be considered 'hazardous waste' under the Basel Convention, which means that it would be prohibited to export the vessel to a non-OECD country. The vessel could therefore risk being detained during the entire validity of the certificate, which may be up to three months, and the owners may face criminal sanctions.
The IMO has acknowledged this issue, and during the 82nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee, a draft guidance was agreed. This states that States that are parties to both the Basel Convention and the Hong Kong Convention may notify he Secretariat that the Hong Kong Convention's requirements will be applied in respect of the transboundary movements of ships intended to be recycled at a ship recycling facility that has been authorized in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention.
The aim is that provisions of the Basel Convention would not affect the transboundary movements which take place pursuant to the Hong Kong Convention, however the interplay between these two regulations is uncertain legal territory. Thommessen is monitoring developments in this respect.
Who does it impact?
Parties involved in the shipment or export of hazardous waste.
Status: In force
The Convention itself was signed on 22 March 1989 and came into force on 5 May 1992.
The Ban Amendment entered into force on 5 December 2019.
Relation to other initiatives and regulations
- The EU fully implemented the Basel Convention in its EU Waste Shipment Regulation, making it legally binding for all EU member states.
- The EU Waste Shipment Regulation has in turn been implemented into Norwegian law by the Norwegian Waste Regulation (2004).
Thommessen's comments
The Basel Convention builds upon the principle of geographical location. If a vessel is considered to be 'waste' under the Basel Convention, the country from where the vessel leaves once it has been sold for scrapping is the 'exporting state' responsible for enforcing the Convention.
However, shipowners rarely disclose to the authorities that the intention is to scrap the vessel. One of the articles of the Basel Convention articulates that each party to the Convention shall take appropriate measures to implement and enforce the Convention, including measures to prevent and punish conduct in contravention of the Convention. As the authorities often do not know about an intended scrapping, enforcement is made very difficult.
The Basel Convention, including the Ban Amendment, has been implemented into EU law by way of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation.