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Brussels, |
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Ship Recycling
Every year, hundreds of large ships are dismantled under unsafe and environmentally harmful conditions. Workers often lack protective equipment and are exposed to hazardous materials, leading to frequent accidents, injuries, and deaths, alongside severe pollution.
To address these problems, the EU’s Ship Recycling Regulation sets strict requirements for how ships and ship recycling facilities must handle the dismantling process. It incorporates and expands on the international Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, which enters into force on 26 June 2025.
The Ship Recycling Regulation is the only dedicated legally binding framework for ship recycling in the EU.
The EU Regulation:
All new EU ships, any EU ship set for dismantling, and non-EU ships stopping at EU ports must carry an inventory of hazardous materials that identifies the location and quantity of toxic substances onboard.
To address these problems, the EU’s Ship Recycling Regulation sets strict requirements for how ships and ship recycling facilities must handle the dismantling process. It incorporates and expands on the international Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, which enters into force on 26 June 2025.
The Ship Recycling Regulation is the only dedicated legally binding framework for ship recycling in the EU.
The EU Regulation:
- Requires that ship recycling is conducted in an environmentally safe and sound manner.
- Restricts or prohibits the installation of hazardous materials onboard ships (e.g., asbestos, ozone-depleting substances).
- Establishes a European List of Ship Recycling Facilities approved for EU-flagged ships.
All new EU ships, any EU ship set for dismantling, and non-EU ships stopping at EU ports must carry an inventory of hazardous materials that identifies the location and quantity of toxic substances onboard.
Key Objectives
- Protect workers and the environment: Prevent or reduce accidents, injuries, and harmful emissions associated with ship dismantling.
- Promote safe ship recycling: Ensure that ships flying the flag of an EU country are dismantled in a controlled manner.
- Enhance sustainability: Minimize negative impacts on human health and ecosystems through stricter controls on hazardous materials.
1. EU Fleet and Global Context
- EU share of world merchant fleet: EU Member States (plus Norway) collectively control around 15–20% of the world’s merchant fleet by gross tonnage, although the actual percentage varies by source and year.
- Global ship dismantling hotspots: A large proportion of vessels (including those formerly under EU flags) continue to be dismantled at yards in South Asia (e.g., Bangladesh, India, Pakistan). According to various estimates (e.g., NGO Shipbreaking Platform), 70–90% of large ocean-going vessels are dismantled under substandard conditions in these regions.
- European Commission – Ship Recycling
- EMSA – European Maritime Transport Environmental Report
- NGO Shipbreaking Platform statistics
2. Number of EU-Flagged Ships Recycled
- Annual retirements: Globally, 600–1,000 large ocean-going vessels reach the end of their operational life each year. Of these, ships flying an EU flag typically represent a smaller but still notable fraction, depending on global economic conditions and scrapping rates.
- Destination of dismantling: Despite the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, many EU-linked ships still end up at non-EU facilities, especially if they change flag before recycling to avoid stricter EU rules.
3. EU-Listed Recycling Facilities
- Facilities on the EU List: As of 2023, there are approximately 50+ ship recycling yards on the official European List of Ship Recycling Facilities, located both inside and outside the EU. The European Commission periodically updates this list, adding or removing yards based on compliance with safety and environmental requirements.
- Capacity vs. demand: Stakeholders note that total EU-listed capacity could handle a portion (but not all) of the EU-flagged ships that need dismantling each year. This gap underlines ongoing challenges in ensuring all EU-tonnage is recycled under safer, more environmentally sound conditions.
4. Hazardous Materials Inventories
- Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM): Since 31 December 2020, all EU-flagged ships and non-EU ships calling at EU ports must carry an IHM.
- Compliance rates: Early implementation data suggest high compliance among larger, modern fleets, but some smaller operators or older vessels still lag behind. Port State Control in EU ports can inspect ships to ensure IHMs and certificates are on board.
5. Health & Environmental Impact
- Worker safety: NGOs and international organizations highlight dozens to hundreds of injuries and fatalities each year worldwide in shipbreaking yards, mainly in South Asia, where many end-of-life vessels from EU owners eventually land.
- Pollution: Soil and water contamination from asbestos, heavy metals, and oil residues remain a significant issue where basic pollution-control measures are lacking.
6. Looking Ahead
- Evaluation of the Ship Recycling Regulation: The Commission plans an evaluation by 31 December 2023 to assess the regulation’s effectiveness in ensuring that EU-flagged ships are dismantled safely and sustainably.
- Hong Kong Convention: Entering into force on 26 June 2025, it may improve global standards, although many experts expect the EU Regulation to remain stricter in certain respects.
Key Takeaways
- A significant proportion of EU-linked (or formerly EU-flagged) ships are still dismantled under precarious conditions in developing countries.
- EU recycling capacity exists but may not yet be sufficient to handle all decommissioned EU vessels.
- Monitoring & enforcement of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the requirement for an Inventory of Hazardous Materials are steadily improving compliance, though flag changes and loopholes remain a concern.
