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 – 2020 Shipbreaking Records
2020 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 – 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.
... Read More
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.
... Read More
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.
... Read More
Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #24
Five workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the last quarter of 2020.
... Read More
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.
... Read More
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.
... Read More