SHIPBREAKING

A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY

SHIPBREAKING

A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY

SHIPBREAKING

A DIRTY AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY

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NGO_Shipbreaking

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.

Ship owners from East Asia and Europe top the list of dumpers that sell ships for breaking on South Asian beaches.

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:

 

6876
SHIPS BEACHED
407
DEATHS
293
INJURIES
ISSUES OF INTEREST
WHY SHIPS ARE TOXIC
FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE
CHILD LABOUR
CLEAN AND SAFE SOLUTIONS

SPOTLIGHT

The Toxic Tide – 2020 Shipbreaking Records

2020 shipbreaking records: most shipping companies continue to opt for the highest price at the worst scrapping yards.

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Where 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

Maersk’s toxic trade: the North Sea Producer case

In August 2016 the FPSO NORTH SEA PRODUCER was beached in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The ship was allowed to leave the UK based on false claims that it… Read More

The controversial case of the Harrier: holding business to account

It all started with an anonymous letter informing us that the EIDE CARRIER was sold for scrap. Having been laid up for many years on the Norwegian… Read More

Newsroom

Brussels, Apr 28th 2021

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #25

Nine workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the first quarter of 2021.

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Brussels, Mar 26th 2021

Press Release – NGOs call upon authorities to sanction illegal exports of cruises

At least three passenger ships have been illegally sold for scrapping on the beaches of South Asia in the last months. 

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Aliaga, Feb 09th 2021

Press Release – Turkish EU-listed yards shaken by two fatal accidents

In the last four months, the Turkish ship recycling industry has been hit by two serious accidents.

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Brussels, Feb 02nd 2021

Press Release – Platform publishes list of ships dismantled worldwide in 2020

630 ocean-going commercial ships and offshore units were sold to the scrap yards in 2020. Of these vessels, 446 were broken down on South Asian beaches, amounting to near 90% of the gross tonnage dismantled globally.

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Brussels, Jan 14th 2021

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #24

Five workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the last quarter of 2020.

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Brussels, Dec 01st 2020

Platform News – Protecting watchdogs across the EU: proposal for an EU anti-SLAPP law

A coalition of non-governmental organisations from across Europe proposes a new EU anti-SLAPP law.

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Norway, Dec 01st 2020

Press Release – Norwegian ship owner sentenced to prison

Last Friday, the Sunnhordland District Court in Norway sentenced ship owner Georg Eide to six months unconditional imprisonment.

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Brussels, Oct 30th 2020

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #23

There were a total of 170 ships broken in the third quarter of 2020. Of these, 110 ships were sold to the beaches of South Asia.

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