EU moves to approve first Indian ship recycling yards

The European Commission has proposed adding two Indian ship recycling facilities to its approved list, a move that could end a decade-long exclusion of South Asian yards from the European regime once formally adopted. The change would mark the first time recycling facilities in India have been admitted to the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities, with one of the two yards operated by Shree Ram Recycling at Alang, the world's largest concentration of shipbreaking capacity.

EU-flagged vessels are currently required to use a facility on the approved European list when sent for demolition, under a regulation that implements the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention while imposing additional European safety and environmental standards. European shipowner representatives welcomed the Commission's proposal and called for its rapid adoption, describing it as a long-awaited step that rewards investments made by the two yards to meet EU standards.

Indian facilities have been attempting to join the approved list since 2016, submitting a total of 32 applications by last year without a single yard being accepted, despite repeated European inspections and significant modernisation of facilities at Alang. More than 110 Indian yards now hold statements of compliance with the Hong Kong Convention issued by members of the International Association of Classification Societies, with three facilities recently completing the procedures needed to seek formal EU recognition and several others still under assessment.

Shipowners have long argued that the European list lacks sufficient capacity and suitable facilities for dismantling large ocean-going vessels, given that much of the world's recycling infrastructure is concentrated in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkiye rather than in Europe itself. The Hong Kong Convention entered into force last year, establishing global requirements covering hazardous materials handling, worker safety and environmentally sound dismantling, though the EU regime remains stricter in several areas, including controls intended to prevent hazardous waste leaking from recycling sites.

Approval of the two Indian yards would carry significance well beyond the additional capacity it adds, establishing a route for compliant facilities in non-OECD countries to enter the European system after years in which geography proved as decisive as operating standards in determining which yards could win EU recognition. Industry representatives said the move should be followed by recognition of further qualified yards outside Europe, giving owners of EU-flagged ships their first approved recycling option in the Indian subcontinent once the list is finalised and formally adopted.