SHIPBREAKING
A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY
SHIPBREAKING
A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY
SHIPBREAKING
A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is a global coalition of organisations working to reverse the environmental harm and human rights abuses caused by current shipbreaking practices and to ensure the safe and environmentally sound dismantling of end-of-life ships worldwide.
Just as the goods they transport, ships too become waste when they reach the end of their operational lives. Yet only a fraction is handled in a safe and clean manner. The vast majority of the world's end-of-life fleet, full of toxic substances, is simply broken down - by hand - on the beaches of South Asia. There, unscrupulous shipping companies exploit minimal enforcement of environmental and safety rules to maximise profits.
A GLOBAL ISSUE

Exporters of toxic ships
Ship owners from East Asia and Europe top the list of dumpers that sell ships for breaking on South Asian beaches.
Shipbreaking countries
In Bangladesh, India and Pakistan ships are broken apart directly on the beach instead of in an industrial site: a practice known as "beaching".
Since 2009:
SPOTLIGHT
The Toxic Tide – 2021 Shipbreaking Records
2021 shipbreaking records: most shipping companies continue to opt for the highest price at the worst scrapping yards.
... Read MoreWhere ships go to die – Winner of the Public Eye Investigation Award
Decommissioned deep-sea vessels are floating toxic waste. Their disposal is laborious and costly, and regarded as a menace by those who want to protect both the workers… Read More
Newsroom

Press Release – Toxic warship “Clemenceau II” starts voyage from Brazil to the Mediterranean Sea
Reports from Rio de Janeiro confirm that the sister ship of the infamous aircraft carrier Clemenceau has now been placed under tow on an about 6000-mile journey to Turkey, where it is to be scrapped.
... Read More
Press Release – Surge of accidents at yards owned by Kabir Group in Bangladesh
Since the beginning of 2022, out of the eighteen accidents that shook the Bangladeshi shipbreaking industry, six have taken place at yards owned by Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills (KSRM).
... Read More
Press Release – Fatal accident at Alang yard during cutting of BW Offshore vessel
A worker died while scrapping FPSO Cidade de Sao Vicente at Indian beaching yard Priya Blue on 21 April.
... Read More
Platform News – SAVE THE DATE: Ship Recycling Lab on 20-21 September in Rotterdam
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform invites you to attend the conference Ship Recycling Lab on 20-21 September in Rotterdam (Netherlands).
... Read More
Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #29
Thirteen workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the first quarter of 2022.
... Read More
Press Release – Appeal Court confirms prison sentence for Norwegian ship owner
According to the Appeal Court, having sold the vessel to a middle man and not directly to a beaching yard does not provide for exempting the ship owner from being held liable for having committed an environmental crime.
... Read More
Press Release – Ship recycling workers’ protest shakes Aliaga
Around 1500 workers are claiming that they do not earn enough money.
... Read More
Press Release – Platform publishes list of ships dismantled worldwide in 2021
763 ocean-going commercial ships and floating offshore units were sold to the scrap yards in 2021. Of these, 583 ended up on the beaches of South Asia, amounting to near the totality of the gross tonnage dismantled globally.
... Read More