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
Bangladesh: shipping firms profit from labour abuse
A new report released by Human Rights Watch and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform uncovers the human and environmental costs of shipbreaking in Bangladesh.
... Read MoreThe Toxic Tide – 2022 Shipbreaking Records
2022 shipbreaking records: most shipping companies continue to opt for the highest price at the worst scrapping yards.
... Read MoreNewsroom

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #35
Four workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the third quarter of 2023.
... Read More
Press Release – Bangladesh: shipping firms profit from labour abuse
New report reveals network used by shipowners and shipbreaking yards to circumvent international laws prohibiting the dumping of end-of-life ships on South Asian beaches.
... Read More
Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #34
Seven workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the second quarter of 2023.
... Read More
Press Release – Ship owner and two directors fined by Dutch Court for breaching EU waste law
Dutch company Jumbo and two of its directors fined for their involvement in the illegal export of an end-of-life ship to Turkey for recycling.
... Read More
Press Release – Petrobras to recycle offshore unit in Brazil for the first time
This significant move paves the way for the development of a recycling industry in Brazil.
... Read More
Press Release – NGOs call on the Netherlands to push for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of FSO Safer
The Dutch government is a pioneer in environmentally friendly technologies implementing sound life-cycle practices.
... Read More