Danish Shipping has strongly endorsed a European Commission proposal to include two Indian ship recycling facilities in Alang on the European Union’s list of approved shipbreaking yards.
In a statement, Nina Porst, Executive Director of Sustainable Ships and Skills at Danish Shipping, said the proposed measure is an “important step” and “has been a long time coming”.
The measure aims to identify shipbreaking establishments that are compliant with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, regardless of location.
Towards a global recycling effort
Porst pointed out that recognizing the organizations that spend their financial resources to meet the high-quality and globally recognized standards creates incentives for further improvements across the global ship recycling industry.
The official noted that the endorsement will encourage more countries to designate their end-of-life ships to more environmentally sound and safe recycling yards.
The Danish official noted that the two shipbreaking facilities in Alang marked improvements in line with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
She added that the yards are showing real progress and the achievements related to ship recycling should be maintained to ensure Danish and European shipowners have “access to the responsible recycling capacity they will need in the years ahead”.
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Need for transparent and performance-based listing process
Porst also emphasized the need for a transparent and performance-based listing process to improve global standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling in line with the global efforts to put forward a sustainable shipping industry in the future.
The industry organization called on the EU Member States and the European Parliament to support the Commission’s measure.
It also urged the Commission to continue assessing and recognizing facilities that meet the EU Ship Recycling Regulation standards.
More than 16,000 ships are expected to require recycling over the next decade, data from the Baltic and International Maritime Council has shown.
The figure represents a significant increase compared to the previous 10 years.
Importance of expanding European list of ship recycling yards
Expanding the European list of ship recycling facilities is necessary in the European Union to ensure sufficient and geographically realistic recycling capacity, particularly for larger ocean-going vessels.
Responsible ship recycling is a growing issue in the maritime industry.
This encourages safe dismantling of end-of-life vessels, supports fleet renewal with more energy-efficient ships, and contributes to the circular economy through the recovery and reuse of valuable materials such as steel.
International Maritime Organization member-states are encouraged to designate their scrapyard-bound ships to shipbreaking facilities that meet globally recognized standards to ensure safe and environmentally sound recycling, minimize occupational health hazards to workers and prevent ecological damage.
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