EU Proposal to Add Two Indian Ship Recycling Yards Sparks Environmental Backlash

The European Commission is facing criticism from environmental campaigners after proposing to add two Indian ship recycling facilities to the EU’s approved list of ship recycling yards, a move opponents say would undermine the bloc’s own environmental standards.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform on Thursday urged the Commission to reverse its proposal to include Shree Ram Vessel Scrap Pvt. Ltd./Shree Ram Shipping Industries Pvt. Ltd. and YSI Recyclers LLP, both located in Alang, India, in the 16th update of the European List of ship recycling facilities.

The proposal, published as part of a draft implementing decision, concludes that the two facilities meet the requirements of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and should therefore be added to the list. The accompanying draft annex identifies both facilities as using the beaching method of ship recycling. 

The proposal also removes several existing facilities from the EU List, including Turkish yard Avsar Gemi Söküm after Commission inspectors found recurring deficiencies, French recycler Recycleurs Bretons–Navaléo, Norway’s Green Yard Kleven AS, and Turkey’s Kiliçlar Geri Dönü?ümlü Maddeler Ve Metal San. Tic. A.?. 

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires large seagoing vessels flying an EU flag to be recycled only at facilities included on the European List, which are deemed to meet the bloc’s environmental and worker safety standards. The regulation is intended to align with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The current European List includes 41 approved ship recycling facilities across EU member states, Norway, the United Kingdom, Türkiye and the United States.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform argues that approving beaching yards would represent a major policy shift and weaken the intent of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, which was designed to ensure ships flying EU flags are recycled in facilities that protect both workers and the environment.

“Beaching” refers to dismantling ships after they are run aground on intertidal mudflats. Environmental groups contend the practice makes it impossible to fully contain hazardous materials, allowing oil residues, heavy metals and other pollutants to enter coastal ecosystems.

The organization points to a heavy fuel oil spill at the Priya Blue shipbreaking yard in Gujarat in June as evidence that pollution cannot be effectively contained when dismantling occurs on tidal beaches. It also argues that Indian shipbreaking operations continue to benefit from regulatory exemptions under India’s coastal and environmental permitting framework.

The group further contends that approving beaching yards would conflict with the EU’s obligations under the Basel Convention and its Ban Amendment, which seek to prevent hazardous waste exports from OECD countries to nations lacking adequate waste management capacity.

The Commission’s draft decision, however, states that after reviewing the applications and supporting evidence submitted under Article 15 of the Ship Recycling Regulation, it determined that both Indian facilities comply with the requirements of Article 13 governing safe and environmentally sound ship recycling. 

The proposed update would also reflect several administrative changes, including renewed authorizations for facilities in Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands, updates following the entry into force of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, and revised approval procedures for Turkish recycling facilities. 

The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the proposed 16th update of the European List through Aug. 30 before adopting a final decision. Environmental organizations say they will submit detailed comments challenging the inclusion of the Indian facilities.

Editorial Standards · Corrections · About gCaptain

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 104,461 members