Tag: international

Press Release – U.S. Shipping Line Matson backtracks on commitment to not dump their old ships on South Asian Beaches

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

Environmental and Human Rights Groups condemn decision as Mokihana sails out of the U.S. to India

 

The Basel Action Network (BAN) and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform today condemned Matson Shipping Lines for proceeding with the export of its former U.S.-flagged vessel MOKIHANA for scrapping at the notorious shipbreaking beaches of Alang, India. This last voyage is a blatant reversal of Matson’s policy established together with BAN and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in 2015 (1) to avoid beach-based ship dismantling, and represents a serious affront to the company’s stated ESG commitments.

 

The vessel has now been reflagged to St. Kitts and Nevis, a flag of convenience commonly used for end-of-life ships headed for scrapping, and renamed MOKHIA. According to publicly available vessel tracking data, the ship is listed as en route to Bhavnagar, India, the port serving the Alang shipbreaking yards.

 

As of 2 February 2026 at 14:42 UTC, the vessel was reported to be operating under its own power in the Pacific Ocean, at approximately 23.98° N latitude and 149.61° E longitude, with an estimated arrival in Bhavnagar on 25 February 2026.

"This sequence of actions - reflagging, renaming, and dispatching the vessel to the Alang region - is a regrettable retreat from corporate responsibility and appropriate end-of-life ship management policy. It directly contradicts Matson’s prior public commitments to avoid beach-based shipbreaking and is a violation of the Basel Convention, calling into question the credibility of Matson’s ESG commitments."
Jim Puckett - Founder and Chief of Strategic Direction - BAN

In 2015, Matson publicly committed to ending the use of South Asian tidal beaches for shipbreaking, following international criticism of the environmental and human-health impacts of the practice. The decision to send MOKHIA to Bhavnagar marks a clear policy reversal, returning to the very practices Matson once pledged to abandon.

 

In a letter to BAN and the NGO Platform, Ms. Rachel Lee, the company’s Vice President of Sustainability and Governance, cited exporting to a beaching facility that supposedly adheres to the Hong Kong Convention as a rationalization for the export. However, in India no shipbreaking yards have so far been authorized under the Hong Kong Convention. Moreover, the Hong Kong Convention does not regulate transboundary waste movements, a gap long criticized by environmental and labor organizations, while the Basel Convention explicitly governs such exports and forbids trade between Parties like India and non-Parties like the United States. Under the Basel Convention, end-of-life vessels containing any forms of hazardous materials are considered hazardous waste, and their export is strictly controlled and in this case, prohibited.

"Beaching remains the most dangerous and polluting form of ship disposal in the world. But companies continue to make use of the beaching yards because this practice offers significantly lower costs than safe, contained recycling alternatives, often through the exploitation of desperate and vulnerable labor forces (2). Changing the name of the ship and its flag does not change the environmental reality on the ground, or the lack of corporate responsibility for sending it there.”"
Ingvild Jenssen - Founder and Executive Director - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

BAN and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform emphasize that the dismantling of end-of-life ships on tidal mudflats externalizes toxic risks onto workers and coastal communities, exposing them to hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals and oil residues, and undermines global efforts to promote safe, contained, and truly sustainable ship recycling.

"This is not responsible recycling. It is a retreat from leadership, and a direct contradiction of Matson’s own ESG narrative."
Jim Puckett - Founder and Chief of Strategic Direction - BAN

The organizations are calling on regulators, investors, and customers to scrutinize Matson’s actions closely and to demand that the company immediately recommit to abiding by the Basel Convention, as well as to only utilize off-the-beach, fully contained ship recycling methods, and protecting the human rights of the world’s most vulnerable laborers.

Press Release – Platform publishes list of ships dismantled worldwide in 2025

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform publishes its 2025 annual list of ships dismantled worldwide. The data reveals that 85% of the global tonnage scrapped last year was broken down on three beaches in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.

 

321 vessels were dismantled globally last year, of which 214 ended up in South Asia. Bangladesh and India remain the shipping industry’s first choices for scrapping, despite the documented grave consequences beaching ships has on workers, local communities and fragile coastal ecosystems. Eleven workers lost their lives in South Asia in 2025, with at least another sixty-two workers injured due to unsafe working practices.

 

One of the most serious incidents occurred at Ziri Subedar yard in Chattogram, Bangladesh, where an oil tank explosion injured eight workers during the dismantling operations of the BANGLAR JYOTI, a vessel owned by the Government of Bangladesh.

 

Bangladesh has already approved seventeen yards under the International Maritime Organisation’s Hong Kong Convention (HKC), which entered into force in June 2025. Yet, serious accidents continue to occur even at these yards, and incident reporting remains opaque or entirely absent. While in India no shipbreaking yards have so far been authorised under the HKC, more than 100 shipbreaking plots in Alang-Sosiya hold private Statements of Compliance with the Convention’s requirements.

"Clearly, the Hong Kong Convention does not set a standard that ensures safe and environmentally sound practices. Now under review at the IMO, it will be key to bolster its requirements, including ways to phase out the fatally flawed beaching method. At the same time, better enforcement of the Basel Convention’s restrictions on hazardous waste trade need to be ensured through measures that effectively hold the shipping industry accountable. This entails shifting responsibility to the states that actually have control over the owners of assets intended for disposal."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director and Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform
Chattogram's shipbreaking beach in Bangladesh - January 2026 - © Spencer Call
Alang's shipbreaking beach in India - 2025 - © RTS
Shipbreaking in Chattogram, Bangladesh - January 2026 - © Spencer Call
Shipbreaking in Chattogram, Bangladesh - January 2026 - © Spencer Call

 

The Platform also warns that the low number of ships that have been scrapped these past years due to favourable operating rates hides a growing backlog of aging tonnage that is expected to head for the breaking yards in the coming years. Included in the backlog are hundreds of tankers operating in the so-called dark fleet, some of which in 2025 were claimed to be illicitly traded to Indian beaching yards using cash, crypto and foreign currencies to avoid sanctions. These developments, combined with indications that the dark fleet may be far larger than widely assumed, risk fuelling a parallel and opaque shipbreaking economy where safety standards, environmental protections, and waste controls will remain easily bypassed.

"The many vessels that will be heading for scrap, including the dark fleet, must be recycled at safe, transparent, and fully regulated facilities — away from beaching practices. Existing facilities that already meet these standards, including ship recycling yards in the European Union, continue to operate at significant under-capacity, underscoring that safe alternatives do exist but remain systematically overlooked by the shipping sector."
Nicola Mulinaris - Senior Communication and Policy Advisor - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

DUMPERS 2025 – Worst practices

 

China tops the 2025 Dumpers List, with 21 Chinese-owned vessels sold to South Asian shipbreakers, mainly in Bangladesh. This despite China’s domestic capacity to recycle ships in dry-dock facilities. 

 

South Korea and the UAE are close runner-ups to Worst Dumpers, with 19 and 17 vessels beached, respectively. More than 60 vessels furthermore departed from these countries’ territorial waters for dismantling in South Asia. The UAE Ship Recycling Regulation, which entered into force in June 2025, however, explicitly prohibits vessels from leaving UAE territorial waters for scrapping at beaching- and landing yards, as these methods are not deemed safe and environmentally sound. International law is also clear: all transboundary movements of hazardous waste, including end-of-life ships, need to obtain Prior Informed Consent (PIC) in line with the Basel Convention and only be approved when safe and environmentally sound practices all the way to disposal are ensured. Exports of end-of-life ships from OECD to non-OECD countries are furthermore banned by international law, breaches of which are considered serious environmental crimes, as witnessed by cases brought to European courts.

 

Greek shipping magnate Vangelis Marinakis is the 2025 Worst Corporate Dumper. A Reporters United investigation into the illegal end-of-life sale of the tanker TRADER III — linked to companies controlled by Marinakis — shows how one of Europe’s most powerful shipping figures profits on selling toxic ships to Bangladesh, enabled by what a senior Greek official describes as a “policy of deliberate indifference”. The report traces the vessel’s final voyage from Turkey through Greek waters and onward to Chattogram, where it was beached at KR Ship Recycling Industries yard on 15 March 2025, completing several transactions designed to evade EU laws and externalise the costs of safely managing toxic waste to vulnerable communities and ecosystems in the Global South. Another Marinakis-linked tanker, the TRADER II, met the same fate on the same beach in September.

 

The TRADER II beached in Chattogram, Bangladesh in January 2026 - © Spencer Call

 

Other well-known owners — including Norwegian Green Reefers and Odfjell, South Korean H-Line, Hyundai LNG Shipping and SK Shipping, Cypriot cruise company Louis PLC, Greek Polys Haji-Ioannou Group, Japanese NYK Line and Mitsui OSK, and Swiss MSC — have contributed to the shipping industry’s toxic footprint, sending their end-of-life vessels for scrapping in the Global South. Lila Global, acting as the ship-owning arm of cash buyer GMS, also sent several vessels to yards in Bangladesh and India.

 

Recently, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) adopted new decommissioning guidelines urging its members to avoid beaching and intermediaries such as cash buyers. While IOGP members Petrobras, SBM, and Shell already follow these guidelines, gas carriers and traders such as US-controlled Seapeak [1] and Thai Siamgas externalise their costs onto vulnerable communities and the environment in Bangladesh. According to local sources two workers lost their lives during beaching operations of the SEAPEAK ASIA, owned by Seapeak. The body of one shipbreaking worker and the severed body parts of another were recovered on the coast. A co-worker of the deceased and witness to the incident told media correspondents that they were struck by the SEAPEAK ASIA during night-time operations at KR Ship Recycling Yard, a plot authorised under the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention. 

 

The SEAPEAK ASIA beached in Chattogram, Bangladesh in January 2026 - © Spencer Call

 

This fatal incident is not an isolated workplace tragedy, but part of a wider end-of-life shipping model in which regulatory loopholes and weak oversight converge at the point of dismantling. Vessels’ end-of-life phase is increasingly recognised as high-risk for environmental violations and financial crime. The widespread use of Flags of Convenience (FOCs), layered ownership structures, and offshore intermediaries enables shipowners to evade regulation and obscure accountability. Prior scrapping, vessels are commonly reflagged to a small group of low-oversight FOCs — such as Comoros, Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis — a practice known as flag-hopping and which allows easy circumvention of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and Hong Kong Convention. In the case of the SEAPEAK ASIA, the vessel’s rapid flag changes — from Spain to the Bahamas in September, and again in December to St Kitts and Nevis — appear designed to evade the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, which requires EU-flagged ships to be scrapped only in EU-approved yards. No yards in South Asia are on the EU List as they do not comply with the Regulation’s requirements. 

 

According to a recently published European Commission report, profits from scrap vessel sales — inflated by avoiding EU-compliant dismantling requirements — can be channelled through shell companies in low-tax jurisdictions using FOCs to disguise beneficial ownership, evade taxation, and launder proceeds linked to other illicit maritime activities such as illegal fishing or sanctions evasion.

 

Turkey is one of the few non-EU destinations that can receive EU-flagged end-of-life vessels — yet its ship recycling sector has come under mounting scrutiny. In Aliağa, civil society groups have challenged the sector’s EIA exemption and filed a criminal complaint alleging systemic regulatory failure. Public pressure led to calls for the EU to withdraw approvals for all yards, a call now also supported by 20 Turkish MPs.

 

In the last months, the sector in Aliağa saw three fatal accidents, including one at EU approved facility Temurtaşlar, and a major fire at Simsekler yard involving the FSO SLOUG, which still held an estimated 6,000 tons of petroleum. Meanwhile, Aliağa Municipality uncovered illegal dumpsites containing 15,000 tons of hazardous waste originating from the ship recycling sector.

 

At the EU level, broader economic and industrial transformations aimed at enhancing clean industries are taking place. Trade unions, the recycling and steel sectors, and civil society organisations are calling on the EU to curb the export of EU owned end-of-life vessels that may cause harm to third countries and recognise the role maritime secondary steel can play in decarbonising not only steel production, but also construction. 

"Emerging regional strategies, such as those focused on strategic autonomy in raw materials, have renewed attention on scrap steel, bringing ship recycling into focus as a valuable source of high-quality materials. Companies like CMA CGM and Höegh Autoliners are already engaging with the steel sector and innovative start-ups such as Oppsirk, and by that stepping forward as market drivers for solutions that will enhance decarbonisation and circularity."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

NOTE

[1] The company is a globally operating entity, formed from Canadian Teekay LNG Partners and now controlled by US private equity firm Stonepeak.




For the data visualization of 2025 shipbreaking records, click here. *

For the full Excel dataset of all ships dismantled worldwide in 2025, click here. *

 

* The data gathered by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform is sourced from different outlets and stakeholders, and is cross-checked whenever possible. The data upon which this information is based is correct to the best of the Platform’s knowledge, and the Platform takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided. The Platform will correct or complete data if any inaccuracy is signaled. All data which has been provided is publicly available and does not reveal any confidential business information.

 

Press Release – IndustriALL Europe and NGO Shipbreaking Platform call for a robust European Industrial Maritime Strategy for sustainable Ship Recycling and quality jobs

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

IndustriALL Europe and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform issued a joint statement calling on the European Commission to adopt a robust European Industrial Maritime Strategy that places safe and circular ship recycling at the heart of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector, and acknowledges its strategic importance. 

Ship recycling is a high-skill and labour-intensive activity that could positively contribute to Europe’s circular economy and decarbonisation efforts. Yet, even though around 35% of the global fleet is EU/EFTA-owned, only 1% of these are recycled in EU-approved ship recycling facilities. This represents a large missed opportunity as valuable materials from end-of-life ships, predominantly steel, are lost to foreign markets. In addition, quality jobs in the European industry are threatened due to the unfair competition. 

Since a surge in the number of end-of-life ships to be dismantled is expected in the next decade, the EU must be ready to accommodate this by creating a tailored policy environment. Studies estimate that up to 12 Mt of scrap steel from EoL vessels could be yielded per year, which, in current numbers, would cover approximately 20% of Europe’s scrap steel use. 

"Europe must stop treating ship recycling as mere waste management. The EU Industrial Maritime Strategy is a unique chance to anchor ship recycling as a strategic, circular, and socially responsible activity. It should combine high environmental standards with quality jobs, strong health and safety protections, and long-term skills development. This is not just about sustainability—it’s about securing Europe’s industrial future. Ship recycling can become a pillar of decarbonisation and industrial resilience."
Isabelle Barthès - Deputy Secretary General - IndustriALL Europe

In order to secure secondary raw materials, reinforce industrial autonomy, and create decent jobs across the maritime value chain, the organisations propose concrete policy measures to be clearly embedded in the upcoming Industrial Maritime Strategy: 

- recognise ship recycling as a strategic maritime industry essential for climate, circular economy, and raw materials security and autonomy,  

- close loopholes in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Waste Shipment Regulation that allow ship owners to circumvent obligations and export hazardous waste to third countries, namely by including Beneficial Ownership of vessels, 

- embed strong social conditionality in public funding and industrial support to ensure that ship recycling contributes not only to environmental objectives, but also to high quality industrial employment and long-term skills retention in Europe, 

- prepare for the anticipated wave of end-of-life vessels to be dismantled by supporting the EU ship recycling sector, ensuring safe and environmentally sound recycling of vessels, 

- support creation of jobs in the ship recycling sector, which could revitalise EU regions affected by the decline in shipbuilding sector, on certain conditions: maintaining high occupational health and safety standards in the sector, promoting job stability, including fair and stable contracts for workers, and contributing to skills development in the field, 

- continue supporting innovative projects, such as Oppsirk or CirclesOfLife, that could be scaled up with tailored policy support, and further contribute to EU’s industrial autonomy and resilience. 

"As the number of vessels heading for dismantling is set to increase fivefold in the coming decade, ship recycling cannot be the blind spot of the EU’s Industrial Maritime Strategy. Strengthening European ship-recycling capacities can play a crucial role in enhancing the sector’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy (today, only 1% of EU-EFTA-owned ships are recycled in the EU) while directly contributing to the European Union’s circular economy and decarbonisation objectives. The European Commission cannot miss this opportunity to send a strong signal to the sector, investors and policymakers."
Philippine Bernard - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

In July last year, NGO Shipbreaking Platform provided feedback to the consultation on the Strategy, where a need for tailored policy support for the EU ship recycling sector was identified. Without decisive EU policy, Europe will continue to lose valuable secondary raw materials to foreign markets, weaken its industrial base, and miss a pivotal chance to create sustainable, high skill jobs. By acting now, the EU can turn ship recycling into a cornerstone of its industrial resilience, climate ambition and social equity.

Press Release – European Commission launches consultation on the 15th update of the EU-approved ship recycling facilities list

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

The European Commission launched its long-awaited consultation on the 15th update of the European List of ship recycling facilities. As the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, we call on the EU to remove all Turkish ship recycling facilities that use the landing method, support the non-inclusion of Indian ‘beaching’ yards, and urge the EU to support capacity development in line with the circularity and decarbonisation objectives.

We welcome the decision to remove the Dörtel ship recycling yard in Aliağa, Turkey. An inspection carried out by the Commission revealed that a ship was being dismantled while still being partially in the water, and the facility was not equipped with an impermeable floor and a slag collector. This could with a high probability lead to contamination of seawater - the main requirements for proper hazardous waste collection and treatment were therefore not met. Therefore, the removal of this facility from the list was indispensable. Although the decision to remove the the Dörtel ship recycling yard in Aliağa, Turkey is a step in the right direction, we find it insufficient.

"Approving yards in third countries that would never be allowed to operate in the EU creates a double standard that undermines not only recyclers that have already invested in truly sustainable methods, but also efforts to improve and scale practices to an acceptable level globally."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director and Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Dangerous conditions in Turkish yards continue to reap their toll. In November this year, another worked died when tons of ship scrap fell on him, killing him instantly. This happened at the Temurtaşlar yard, which is an EU-approved facility.

Whereas several Indian yards – where ships are cut on unprotected tidal mudflats – have applied to be included on the European list, and were audited by the European Commission in late 2024, none have been proposed to be added to its most recent edition.

Beaching - the current method used by the Indian yards - does not provide full containment of pollutants; it is not allowed in the EU, explicitly banned in China and the UAE, and has even been identified as a method that needs to be replaced by drydocks by the Indian government in its Maritime India Vision 2030.

In their position submitted to the Commission, the European Shipowners (ESCA) states that the facilities on the EU list have very limited capacities, and their ship recycling activities are predominantly limited to small, often inland-sail vessels. Furthermore, the association complains that Indian ship recycling yards are again not included in the proposed new list.

"Instead of lamenting the exclusion of beaching yards, claiming that they have no other options, ship owners should play an active role in building the needed capacity to sustainably recycle their assets. There is no better time than now to establish cross sectoral synergies with both steel and construction sectors to boost circularity and ensure the availability of industrial platforms to dismantle all types of vessels."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director and Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Even though it is true that the EU-located facilities recycle smaller vessels, this is not due to the fact of their limitations in terms of size and technical capacities, but to the lack of stable inflow of ships to recycle. Considering the marine cargo sector’s record profits, we find their lack of willingness to contribute to the capacity building in the EU unjustifiable. The top 9 shipping companies’ profits rose in the 3rd quarter of 2025 to more than $4.3 billion in operating profit (EBITDA).

So far, only a handful of ship owners, including Hoegh, Hapag Lloyd, CMA-CGM and Petrobras, are taking action to build a better future for ship recycling. The vast majority continue to circumvent international environmental laws with ease, and even lobby for the weakening of standards as illustrated by the ECSA’s submission.

The Commission is furthermore urged to lead by example and enhance capacity in the EU to recycle the many ships that will head for scrap in the coming years. As outlined in the NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s recent report, enhancing domestic capacity for ship recycling provides a strategic opportunity for the EU to secure a steady supply of high quality secondary scrap for the decarbonisation of the steel and construction sectors, and provides coherence with EU environmental policies aimed at preventing the export of hazardous materials from the EU.

It is high time that the EU takes effective steps to at least hold its own shipping sector to account. The best way to do that is to apply its legislation to the real owners of ships and close legal loopholes made available when relying on the flag or location of the ship. Importantly, EU Member States now have to signal whether they will continue to succumb to pressure from ship owners that seek to avoid accountability or support the development of green jobs and circular hubs that will benefit European steel and construction sectors and reward responsible ship owners.

Press Release – Ship recycling can and should boost circularity, sustainable transition, and creation of green jobs in the EU steel and recycling sectors

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, Recycling Europe, and EUROFER publish a joint statement calling the EU for a recognition of the strategic importance of the European ship recycling sector. The signing parties highlight the numerous benefits of ship recycling for the European steel market in light of circularity and the green transition towards low-carbon production methods, and outline concrete policy actions needed to unlock its full potential.

Why ship recycling matters:

- an aging global fleet – studies forecast a five‑fold increase in end‑of‑life (EoL) vessels by 2033;

- material recovery – between 70 % and 95 % of a ship’s weight can be reclaimed as high‑quality scrap, supplying the steel industry with a substantial secondary‑raw‑material stream;

- the EU stake – companies based in the EU and EFTA own about one‑third of the world’s fleet, placing the continent in a pivotal position to steer the transition.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform recently published a thorough report on the role of scrap steel from end-of-life ships in the decarbonisation efforts of the European steel industry. The report suggested several policy changes that could increase access to high quality secondary steel from the maritime sector.

Now joined by the European recycling and steel sectors, we call on the European Commission to adopt effective measures to increase capacity in the EU to recycle the many ships that will head for scrap in the coming years.

In order to keep the valuable steel in the European market, and therefore contribute to strategic material autonomy, the signing parties call the European Commission for:

- Closing the re-flagging loophole in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation by enlarging its scope to the real owners of vessels

- A true level playing field: only fully compliant yards approved

- Investment & financing to scale EU ship recycling capacity

- Transparency from shipowners on fleet retirement plans

- Recognition of ship recycling in the upcoming Circular Economy Act

By keeping valuable steel within the EU, the proposed actions will:

- accelerate decarbonisation – each tonne of recycled ferrous scrap avoids roughly 1.6 t CO₂ (carbon steel) or 5 t CO₂ (stainless steel) compared with primary production;

- strengthen strategic material autonomy – reduces reliance on imported iron ore and coal, shortening supply chains;

- create green employment – modern ship‑recycling yards and green steel sector generate jobs in engineering, environmental management and advanced manufacturing;

- uphold Europe’s leadership – reinforces the EU as a front‑runner in environmental stewardship, worker safety and circular economy policy.

Bringing back ship recycling to the EU is also a question of environmental justice as ships contain many hazardous materials of which the export to South Asian beaches is prohibited by international law. The EU should take responsibility for its ships and ensure their safe and environmentally sound recycling. Strengthening the domestic ship recycling sector will contribute to the EU’s circularity objectives, its strategic material autonomy, while creating green jobs in synergy with the steel market.

You can find the full statement by clicking here.

Press Release – EU urged to halt approvals of hazardous shipbreaking facilities in Aliağa, Turkey

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

Turkish and European NGOs call for stricter enforcement of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation

 

 

Turkish and European civil society is urging the EU to revoke the approvals of ship recycling yards that put workers and the environment at risk. In an open letter to the European Commission, a broad coalition of Turkish NGOs, lawyers, unions and city councils, backed by Brussels-based NGO Shipbreaking Platform and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), demand the immediate withdrawal of all EU approvals granted to ship recycling facilities in Aliağa, Turkey, under Article 23 of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) [1].

The letter highlights several infringements of the SRR, including environmental and public health risks linked to regulatory exemptions, gaps in law enforcement, illegal waste dumping and contamination by heavy metals and other pollutants.

The coalition held a press conference in Izmir on 18 November. The signatories argue that the existing approvals effectively legitimise practices that would never be allowed in any EU Member State, creating a dangerous double standard that exposes workers and communities to environmental and occupational hazards.

The signing parties call on the European Commission to:

- revoke all EU approvals for Aliağa ship recycling facilities without delay;

- revise the approval procedures under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation so that only fully contained, industrial platform methods, such as drydocks, can be approved;

- fully cooperate with authorities and civil society organisations to ensure that the infrastructure in Aliağa provides safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.

Signatories also raise concerns about the Commission’s ongoing assessment of applications from Indian ‘beaching’ yards. Beaching – the practice of dismantling ships directly on tidal mudflats – is expressly forbidden in the EU. The NGOs urge the Commission to adopt a consistent, zero tolerance policy toward any shipbreaking method that cannot guarantee full containment of pollutants and protection of workers from occupational hazards and fatal accidents.

"While the EU focuses on championing a single market for raw materials, it turns a blind eye to ship recycling yards plagued by labour and environmental abuses. The EU must apply the precautionary principle and remove these facilities from the Ship Recycling Regulation list immediately."
Eva Bille - Head of Circular Economy - European Environmental Bureau

In December 2023, NGO Shipbreaking Platform published a thorough report on ship recycling in Turkey, highlighting systemic failures across the sector. Further submissions regarding updates to the EU list are available here, here, and here.

"The EU list should represent a level-playing field, and must not legitimise bad practices and double standards in the sector. This is something we strongly condemn, and, therefore we take action and support the local civil society."
Ekin Sakin - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

To be included in the European List, any ship recycling facility, irrespective of its location, must comply with strict safety and environmental requirements. Currently, more than half of EU-flagged vessels are dismantled in Aliağa, where 11 of the 22 local yards are already EU-approved, and five additional facilities are seeking approval.

NOTES

 

[1] Article 23 of the EU SRR states that ”natural or legal persons affected or likely to be affected [...] shall be entitled to request the Commission to take action under this Regulation with respect to such a breach or an imminent threat of such a breach”. Considering the well-documented breaches in terms of environmental protection and health, the signatories urge the Commission to take immediate action.

Press Release – Ship scrap steel can help decarbonise European steelmaking, highlights a new report

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

NGO Shipbreaking Platform, in collaboration with Sandbag - Smarter Climate Policy and the University of Tuscia, publishes a thorough report on the role of scrap steel from end-of-life ships in the decarbonisation efforts of the European steel industry. As the EU accelerates its industrial transformation towards more sustainability, ship recycling stands out as a key opportunity to decarbonise steelmaking, strengthen industrial resilience, and build a truly circular economy.

Steel is one of the critical elements of Europe’s industrial strategy. To achieve the European Union’s climate targets, the steel industry must rapidly shift from carbon‑intensive blast furnace steelmaking to low‑carbon electric arc furnace technology, which can incorporate high amounts of scrap steel. As this shift will require steady access to high-quality scrap, boosting capacity to recycle ships in the EU becomes key.

"Europe’s shipping sector is sitting on a massive resource of high‑quality steel that is currently being processed under unsafe conditions abroad at end-of-life. Our report shows that with the right policies, including clear traceability, stricter enforcement, and financial incentives, we can turn ship scrap into a cornerstone of a circular, low‑carbon steel economy. This is not just an environmental win - it is a strategic opportunity for European industry."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Ship steel is known for its high, uniform quality and rigorous certification standards - characteristics that make it highly suitable not only for recycling but also for direct reuse. The report highlights innovation from digital material traceability tools developed under the Horizon Project CirclesOfLife, to ship life-extension research by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, and the reuse of steel plates in construction, demonstrated by the start-up Nordic Circles as both economically viable and environmentally safe. Together, these developments show how the maritime, steel, and construction industries can collaborate to close material loops and scale circular solutions.

"However, without clear data on composition and certification, much of the steel’s value is lost. Only by enhancing traceability and documentation will the seamless integration of ship scrap into Europe’s industries, including direct reuse in construction, be possible, and significantly boost both economic and environmental benefits, while optimising recovery rates."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Ship scrap in numbers

- Only 1% of European ships are currently recycled in the EU;

 

- 70–95% of a ship’s weight can be recovered as scrap, making end-of-life vessels a largely untapped resource;

 

- Recycling ship steel can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 80 % compared to the use of virgin materials, while using roughly 40 % less water and energy;

 

- Forecasts show a surge in EU/EFTA‑owned ship demolitions throughout the next decade, peaking at approximately 12 Mt of scrap steel per year. This could satisfy 10‑15 Mt of the EU’s annual scrap steel demand - roughly 20 % of total consumption.

 

 

Policy recommendations

To seize the opportunity ship scrap steel represents for decarbonising both the European steel and construction sectors, the EU must improve transparency and data on end-of-life vessels, strengthen material documentation, and ensure recycling takes place under the highest safety and environmental standards in EU/EFTA-located ship recycling yards. Upcoming EU policies, including the Circular Economy Act and the Industrial Accelerators Act, should explicitly support sustainable ship recycling in line with EU circularity principles. The report also urges the EU to close existing loopholes in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, currently applying to EU-flagged vessels only and circumvented by out-flagging practices, and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation, which does not effectively tackle the fraudulent further operability claims of vessel owners.

Click here to access the report.

Platform News – EU Circular Economy Act: ship recycling can help decarbonise the EU’s steel and construction sectors

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

With a significant number of ships expected to reach the end of their service life in the coming years, ship recycling presents a strategic opportunity for Europe to meet its goals on circularity and cleaner industrial policies.

 

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform participated in the European Commission’s consultation on an upcoming game-changing legislation: the Circular Economy Act. Our main point is clear: ship recycling presents a significant opportunity to achieve not only enhanced circularity, but also the EU’s strategic autonomy, decarbonisation and competitiveness objectives, while putting an end to the export of harmful waste to third countries.

 

In particular, we highlight the role ship recycling can play for the decarbonisation of the European steel and construction sectors. The world’s fleet is not only growing, but also aging, which will create more opportunities for steel recycling as it is ships’ default building material. Studies predict an even five-fold increase of ships sent for dismantling in the next decade, which could yield more than 100 million tonnes of high-quality steel. Since steel recycling saves 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ compared to raw steel, this would lead to huge emissions reductions and significantly limit pollution. Also, innovative projects have demonstrated how we can directly re-use ship steel in sectors such as construction.

 

However, the vast majority of end-of-life ships end up on Bangladeshi, Indian or Pakistani beaches, where the dismantling and recycling practices are far from safe. Only 1% of EU-owned vessels are recycled in Europe. 

"Owning one third of the world's fleet, the European Union has a duty to lead the way and set an ambitious example for sustainable ship recycling. Instead of destroying fragile coastal ecosystems, and putting workers in third countries’ health at risk, EU-owned end-of-life ships should contribute to decarbonisation and circularity efforts."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

The Circular Economy Act is a key opportunity to shift the sector towards more sustainable practices. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform therefore calls on the European Commission to include in its proposal:

 

- A clear prioritisation of eco-design and upcycling practices that promote reuse over recycling;

- An explicit recognition of the EU-owned fleet as a material bank of high-quality steel, and ship-derived steel as a strategic source of secondary raw material;

- Enhanced product information transparency to facilitate the circulation of ship materials across industries, notably through creation of a Ship Material Passport;

- Ambitious lead market measures for end-of-life ships materials including mandatory circular public procurement targets;

- Strong circularity incentives for the maritime sector including a ship recycling return scheme;

- Clear support to circular innovations and research;

- Decisive action to close legal and enforcement loopholes on end-of-life ship exports, in particular by reviewing the EU Ship Recycling Regulation.

 

We welcome and support any action leading to preventing exports of hazardous waste, and unleashing the circular economy’s potential with its numerous benefits. We therefore call on the European Commission to recognize the strategic role of ship recycling in achieving circularity of the EU economy, and to include the proposed measures to unlock this potential in the Circular Economy Act.

 

Click here to access our full position paper.

Press Release – Marinakis’ tanker beached in Bangladesh amid Greek government indifference

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

Reports United's investigation exposes systemic law evasion and industry complicity

 

A recent Reporters United’s investigation into the illegal end-of-life sale of TRADER III — a tanker linked to companies of Greek shipowner and media magnate Vangelis Marinakis — lays bare how Europe’s most powerful shipping interests still funnel toxic end-of-life ships to Bangladesh’s tidal beaches. It also records, in the words of a senior Greek official, a policy of deliberate indifference that lets these illegal exports sail on.

 

The facts are stark. On 29 January 2025 the TRADER III called port at Nemrut, Turkey. The next day it tracked toward Chios, cut south across Greek territorial waters, drifted off Egypt until 14 February, then headed east towards the shipbreaking beach of Chattogram, Bangladesh. On 15 March the tanker was beached at KR Ship Recycling Industries’ King Steel yard. By then, the deal chain had done what it was designed to do: deliver illegally a high-value hull to a non-OECD beach, far from EU oversight, for workers to cut it by hand amid hazardous substances onboard.

At the centre of the deal stands Global Marketing Systems (GMS), the world’s largest cash buyer of scrap ships — and a company long accused of enabling the world's toxic shipbreaking trade. The journalists document that Marinakis-linked interests sold the vessel directly to GMS. Scrap dealers, such as GMS, arbitrage lax standards and higher per-tonne prices paid by South Asian beaching yards. 

 

The report also showcases how ship owners and GMS get away with trafficking ships to South Asian beaches. In June 2025, GMS hosted a webinar featuring Petros Varelidis, Greece’s Secretary-General for Natural Environment. There, Varelidis spelled out — without ambiguity — a policy of wilful non-enforcement when it comes to regulating exports of end-of-life ships like TRADER III from Greek waters. He also went further, dismissing EU officials responsible for monitoring ship recycling as “low-level bureaucrats”.

 

Inaction by Greek authorities causes harm. Chattogram's yards remain among the world’s deadliest work places. King Steel yard itself recorded an accident in August while the TRADER III was beached there. Europe’s legal framework is unambiguous: exports of end-of-life ships from the EU to non-OECD are banned, and the EU Ship Recycling Regulation channels EU-flag ships to approved yards — a list that does not include beaching yards in Bangladesh. Owners dodge this with flags of convenience and cash-buyer transfers, but courts across Europe have begun to pierce the veil of such deals, recognising owners’ duty of care to ensure sustainable ship recycling. 

 

Greece and Turkey are the main European chokepoints — the last predictable places to stop on the way to a beaching yard. Yet, as Reporters United’s file shows, Greece “pretends”, and Turkey looks away, even when NGOs provide concrete case alerts. “Greek and Turkish authorities have a very bad track record of turning a blind eye,” our policy team told the reporters, reflecting years of unanswered warnings about illegal exports staged from their waters.

"What happens next will show whether the law matters when powerful owners are involved. We call on Greek prosecutors to open an immediate probe into the Trader III’s export, to obtain contracts, emails and an end-of-life sale timeline, as well as investigate compliance by responsible Greek authorities. The seller’s intent and the ship’s foreseeably illegal destination were evident before the vessel left Greek waters. EU institutions should furthermore sanction Greece’s evident failure to comply with the Waste Shipment Regulation"
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Press Release – From refurbishment promise to scrapping threat: the Moby Drea controversy

Posted on by Nicola Mulinaris

The Italian-flagged ferry MOBY DREA, which left Genoa in July after its owner assured Italian authorities it would be refurbished in Croatia and returned to service, is now mired in controversy. Following protests by Croatian civil society organisations, the heavily asbestos-contaminated vessel is again on the market for dismantling.

 

Public outrage in Split has been building for weeks, with the civic initiative “Zdravi Split” leading protests to demand that the ship leaves Croatia, as it was feared the removal of 400 tonnes of asbestos would be conducted locally at the Brodosplit yard, exposing workers and residents to unjustifiable risks. In response, Croatia’s Ministry of Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure ordered the vessel to leave within seven days, but later extended the deadline by fifteen. Now, it is reported that the ship is finally scheduled to depart today.

 

Open letters to the government stress that asbestos removal constitutes ship recycling, which is strictly regulated under EU law (Regulation 1257/2013) and the Basel Convention. The Brodosplit yard is not licensed for conducting scrapping operations, the ship should thus never have been allowed to enter Croatia in the first place.

 

Two official Inventories of Hazardous Materials dated 10 September 2024 and 20 January 2025 further eroded trust; the first having declared the presence of 64.30 tonnes of asbestos onboard, while the second estimating nearly 400 tonnes. This huge discrepancy raises serious concerns about oversight and transparency, and adds to the sense that the MOBY DREA case has been mishandled from the outset.

"The MOBY DREA carries an enormous asbestos load, and it must not end up in a facility that cannot manage it safely."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

The Platform warns that Turkey, a likely destination for scrapping, cannot be considered a responsible option. Turkish ship recycling yards have repeatedly been criticised for unsafe practices, particularly in the handling and disposal of toxics such as asbestos. Sending a vessel with nearly 400 tonnes of asbestos to such facilities would endanger the health of workers and surrounding communities. 

"The ship owner and Italian authorities, as the flag state, now have a responsibility to ensure the vessel leaves Croatia without delay and is recycled at a certified European facility capable of managing its hazardous materials in full compliance with the law."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform