Circularity

Turning end-of-life ships into a strategic resource for Europe

The European shipping sector controls 35% of the global fleet, yet today only 1% of EU-owned ships are recycled in Europe. End-of-life ships contain high-quality steel that could be safely recycled or reused in Europe, supporting low-carbon steelmaking, reducing emissions, and creating skilled green jobs. Since most EU-owned ships are dismantled outside Europe, valuable steel is lost to foreign markets.

With an ageing global fleet and a predicted sharp increase in the number of ships heading for dismantling, EU/EFTA-owned end-of-life vessels alone could generate an estimated 10–12 million tonnes of scrap steel every year for the next decade, equivalent to around 20% of the EU’s annual scrap steel consumption.

Europe has a unique opportunity to keep valuable steel in the EU, strengthen material autonomy, and accelerate decarbonisation, while ensuring safe and environmentally sound recycling practices.

Best practices, such as the Norwegian project Oppsirk, demonstrate that ship steel can be upcycled directly in building projects with an emission reduction of 97% compared to conventional steel, and significant savings in costs of steel processing.