Press Release – Ship Recycling Lab’s 2nd Edition: when ethical leadership and cutting edge technology meet, sustainable ship recycling is on the horizon!

Over 100 participants from across the globe, including recyclers, ship owners, policymakers, researchers, and environmental advocates, met in Lisbon on 9-10 October for the NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s second edition of the Ship Recycling Lab. With a sharp focus on environmental responsibility and cutting-edge technologies, the event showcased  companies that already are sustainably recycling vessels, as well as ongoing research and policy commitments aimed at further scaling and improving practices. 

 

From Brazil to the Middle East, new strategies are pushing for safe and clean ship recycling. Elegant Exit Company shared experiences recycling their first ship in a dry-dock in Bahrain, while Petrobras introduced its new "off the beach" policy and pilot projects designed to boost Brazil’s domestic capacity. In Europe - and on home-turf at the Lab - Lisnave shared that they intend to add recycling to their repair and maintenance activities at their Setubal yard. 

 

Participants at the Lab expressed keen interest to look at what the sector can offer in terms of meeting circular economy and climate objectives. Possibilities for a thriving ship recycling hub in Northern Germany driven by a demand for scrap steel were explored, and going forward, EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries' Confederation, announced at the Lab the establishment of a new working group. They will undoubtedly play an important role in raising the issue at the European level and have already identified the need to embed stricter safety and environmental benchmarks into the upcoming revision of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation to ensure a fair level playing field. 

 

 

The Lab also spotlighted the latest technological advancements, including plasma and water cutting technologies as alternatives to gas cutting, and RFID tracking and blockchain as tools for improving the management of Inventories of Hazardous Materials. AF Offshore Decom captured the attention with their groundbreaking work on upcycling decommissioned assets by generating certified second-hand steel with 95% lower CO2 emissions for the construction sector. Several projects, including SHEREC, Circles of Life, ReCab, and ShipRec, shared ongoing R&D looking at novelties in circular economy principles, including material passports, and AI integration. 

 

Unveiling their new guideline on FSO and FPSO decommissioning, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) was another stakeholder at the Lab setting a new benchmark for industrial sustainability. Their guideline bans the use of substandard scrapping methods, including beaching, and prohibits dealings with cash buyers — a practice long criticised for fuelling unsafe and unregulated shipbreaking. 

 

Addressing how to foster industrial practices that do not compromise on protecting fragile coastal ecosystems and ocean health, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, provided insights on how blue bonds could potentially unlock finance, marking a clear step towards integrating ship recycling into global sustainable finance frameworks. Increased traceability on scrap steel, quality and supply chain were furthermore identified as key to add value and also assist the steel sector in its transition towards meeting industrial decarbonisation targets.

"The 2nd Ship Recycling Lab aimed at paving the way for future innovations and policy reforms, so when participants left with a renewed commitment to sustainable practices and a shared ambition to drive global change, I think we succeeded! Collaboration is key to transforming the industry — only through strong partnerships between governments, industry leaders, financiers, research institutions, workers and civil society can we advance clean, safe and just ship recycling globally. We are already looking forward to the 3rd Edition of the Ship Recycling Lab! "
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director and Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Press Release – Fatal accident at Işıksan shipyard in İzmir

Gas Exposure Claims One Life

 

On 31 August, an accident occurred at IŞIKSAN ship recycling yard in İzmir, Aliağa during the dismantling operations of the Bideford Dolphin, a Bermuda-flagged floating oil platform formerly owned by Fred Olsen & Co. The incident took place onboard the offshore unit, leading to the exposure of multiple workers to gas.

 

According to information gathered by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, four workers were directly affected by the gas exposure. Tragically, one of them, İbrahim Karakaya, lost his life. The other three workers were discharged from the hospital late last week. İbrahim Karakaya was working for a subcontracting company charged with removing materials and furniture from the oil platform. IŞIKSAN, however, has a duty of care and responsibility to ensure that all safety standards are met by all parties operating at their yard. Additionally, six workers directly employed by IŞIKSAN who intervened to assist their colleagues also sought medical attention.

 

This accident could and should have been avoided. Dismantling a pressurised container in a confined space is not recommended from a  health and safety perspective and should only have been done under supervision, following a comprehensive risk assessment. It seems no such assessment was conducted”, states Prof. Dr. Alp Ergör from the İzmir Medical Chamber.

 

There was no Occupational Health and Safety personnel present at the scene, and essential equipment, including gas masks, was not provided. Supervision must be thorough, conducted at every step to ensure the safety of the workers. We feel pain and anger for the loss of our fellow worker. This incident highlights the struggle and sustained efforts needed to ensure safe and decent working conditions at the shipbreaking yards”, adds Sonay Tezcan from the Workers' Platform of the Aegean.

 

This incident is not isolated. Over the years, there have been several accidents in the Aliağa shipbreaking yards, particularly during the dismantling of oil platforms. Workers have faced serious hazards such as toxic gas exposure, explosions, and falls from height. Investigations are needed to understand the root reasons of the accidents and make sure they are prevented in the future.

 

In 2022, IŞIKSAN yard was removed from the European Union’s list of approved ship recycling facilities. This decision came due to failure to comply with several requirements of EU Ship Recycling Regulation. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform published last year an extensive report outlining the many challenges and failures of the Turkish ship recycling sector to comply with national and European occupational health and safety standards as well as environmental protection measures.

 

Press Release – Bangladesh: ship explosion exposes regulatory failures


Deadly accident in a yard with Hong Kong Convention certification 


 

The explosion on the oil tanker MT Suvarna Swarajya on September 7, 2024, in Bangladesh underscores the lack of adequate international and national regulations, oversight, and labor rights protections in the shipbreaking industry, Human Rights Watch and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform said today. Six workers have died and four remain in critical condition.

 

Shipowners frequently use a network of middlemen and loopholes to circumvent international regulations that prohibit the export of ships to dismantling facilities in Bangladesh that do not have adequate environmental or labor protections. The MT Suvarna Swarajya was previously owned by the Shipping Corporation of India, then sold in March 2023 to Last Voyage DMCC, a subsidiary of Best Oasis, one of the world’s largest cash buyers of ships. Last Voyage DMCC then sold it in May to S.N. Corporation in Bangladesh for dismantling, despite the company’s poor health and safety record, with at least 14 deaths and 22 injuries since 2010 and before the sale.

 

"The tragic explosion at one of SN Corporation’s shipbreaking yards underscores the dangers of an international regulatory system set up to profit the shipping industry rather than protect workers’ rights and safety. The Hong Kong Convention and its so-called certificates of compliance, like the one granted to SN Corporation, create the dangerous illusion that these yards are safe and environmentally sustainable."
Julia Bleckner - Senior Asia Researcher - Human Rights Watch

The explosion occurred in the Unit-2 yard of S.N. Corporation, a few months after Nippon Kaiji Kyokai certified the Unit 2 yard under the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. While the Convention will enter into force June 26, 2025, many shipbreaking yards are seeking voluntary certification using Hong Kong Convention standards.

 

Human Rights Watch, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, and other rights and environmental organizations have repeatedly raised concerns that the Convention provides for weak environmental and safety standards.

 

Human Rights Watch wrote to S.N. Corporation, Best Oasis, the Shipping Corporation of India, and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai about the September 7 explosion. Nippon Kaiji Kyokai responded on September 15 confirming that the company had conducted their audit based on IMO guidelines. S.N. Corporation, Best Oasis, and the Shipping Corporation of India have not responded. 

 

Countries at the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting on September 30, including Bangladesh, should establish clear consensus that the Hong Kong Convention does not replace the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which applies to end-of-life ships, and offers a higher level of control, the organizations said.

 

Following the explosion, Bangladesh authorities have indefinitely shut down S.N. Corporation’s yard where the explosion occurred, halted all work on the MT Suvarna Swarajya, and opened an official investigation into the accident. The Department of Environment has suspended the yard’s environmental clearance and ordered SN Corporation to report within three days why the yard should not be permanently shut down.

 

According to data collected by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, among the casualties in yards owned by SN Corporation since 2010, six injuries occurred earlier in 2024 across its three yards. Two of them were on the MT Suvarna Swarajya in May, when a falling pipe broke one worker’s leg and a steel rope injured another worker’s hand. In 2021, one worker in an S.N. Corporation yard died when he fell from a ship during a cutting operation. In 2020, another worker died, also in an S.N. Corporation yard, when he was hit by a falling metal cable.

 

Workers from S.N. Corporation’s yards told Human Rights Watch in July 2022 that the conditions at those yards were dangerous. A 27-year-old cutter said: “I face risk every day that I work in the shipbreaking yard. Nobody wants to work here because they know there is a risk and accidents may occur at every step. The owners do not provide us with any safety measures. They overlook these things.” He said that while the yard’s management provided him with a helmet and gloves, he paid for his own boots, goggles, and protective clothing, despite earning less than US$1.50 per hour, well below Bangladesh’s minimum wage for shipbreaking workers.

 

While the Bangladesh interim government has taken positive steps to address S.N. Corporation’s alleged failure to ensure worker safety, international corporations that enabled the MT Suvarna Swarajya to be dismantled under alleged unsafe conditions should also be held accountable, the groups said. At a minimum, if found responsible, the companies involved, including S.N. Corporation, Best Oasis, and the Shipping Corporation of India, should pay for the medical treatment, long-term rehabilitation, and compensation to those injured, and provide compensation for workers who were killed. In response to questions about measures they are taking to provide compensation, the companies did not respond.

 

Cash buyers like Best Oasis serve as scrap dealers for end-of-life ships. The use of cash buyers has the effect of shielding ships’ original owners and operators from accountability for deaths and injuries taking apart their ships. Given that the three main cash buyers, including Best Oasis, sell ships almost exclusively to yards in South Asia where labor rights abuses and environmental harms have been well-documented, it is reasonable to expect that shipping companies that sell end-of-life ships through cash buyers know that their ship will likely be scrapped under abusive and environmentally damaging conditions.

 

Many cash buyers typically use shell companies or ship registries with lower regulatory burdens as part of their final voyage package, to further obfuscate the beneficial owner of the ship before it is sold to a shipbreaking yard with minimal environmental and safety requirements.

 

Many shipping companies, including some of those based in Europe and North America, use cash buyers to circumvent international and regional regulations that ban dumping their ships in subpar yards to increase their profit.

 

In 2019 the Bangladesh High Court ordered that vessels sailing under flags that have been gray- and black-listed for persistent violations by port state controls, should not be allowed to be imported into Bangladesh. However, more than 100 end-of-life ships were imported under gray- and black-listed flags last year to Bangladesh, in violation of the High Court order.

 

To be imported to Bangladesh for breaking, a ship must be issued a “No Objection Certificate” from the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board, indicating that there are no hazardous materials onboard. The Department of Environment must also issue an environmental clearance certificate, and the Department of Explosives must issue “gas free for man entry,” and “gas free for hot work” certificates.

 

In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch viewed 21 leaked hazardous waste certificates for ships entering Bangladesh to be dismantled. The language was consistently pro forma and, in some cases, verbatim, suggesting that the parties drafting the certificates were not conducting adequate inspections of the actual materials onboard the ships. This apparent lack of genuine inspection and oversight exponentially increases the risk of accidents like the explosion on the MT Suvarna Swarajya, the groups said.

 

Bangladesh’s interim government should enforce the 2009 High Court orders that halted the import of ships for recycling until there were “satisfactory provisions for the safety of the workers,” and properly enforce the High Court’s 18-point directive and subsequent orders that require rigorous health and safety standards and labor rights and environmental protections, including the ban on importing ships under gray- and black-listed flags.

 

The Ministry of Industries should immediately shut down any shipbreaking yards employing children, and any yards found to have night operations or are otherwise seriously violating workers’ rights. The Ministry should set a timebound directive to yards to move all ship recycling operations off the beach because dismantling ships on the sand is inherently more dangerous for workers and environmentally damaging. The worksite itself is full of hazards and it is impossible for emergency vehicles to traverse the sandy beach to access the job sites in case of injuries or fire. Shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh should install proper industrial platforms in accordance with the Basel Convention Technical Guidelines on Ship Recycling.

 

In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, if not already in place, shipping companies should adopt formal and explicit due diligence policies that ensure the company maintains oversight of where ships are recycled and ensures that ships, including those previously owned or operated by the company, are not discarded in yards that use the beaching method. Given the loopholes and the urgent need for stronger regulation of ship recycling, Human Rights Watch and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform believe that adequate voluntary due diligence by shipping companies requires stopping all sales through cash buyers.

"The fire on the MT Suvarna Swarajya is a grave and revolting reminder both of the shipbreaking sector’s failure to comply with national requirements and of the weak standards set by the Hong Kong Convention. It calls for action also at the international level to put a halt to practices that cause irreparable damage, including by taking apart ships laden with toxic substances on tidal mudflats. Beaching can never be safe, nor environmentally sound, and, if allowed to continue, amounts to endorsing the exploitation of vulnerable communities and ecosystems in developing countries."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director and Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

To read the report, “Trading Lives for Profit: How the Shipping Industry Circumvents Regulations to Scrap Toxic Ships on Bangladesh’s Beaches,” please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/node/385988


For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Bangladesh, please visit:

https://www.hrw.org/asia/bangladesh


For more Human Rights Watch reporting on health and human rights, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/topic/health

 

 

CONTACT

 

For Human Rights Watch, in New York, Julia Bleckner (English): +1-917-890-4195 (mobile); or blecknj@hrw.org.

 

For NGO Shipbreaking Platform, in Brussels, Ingvild Jenssen (English, French, Norwegian): +32-485-190-920 (mobile); or ingvild@shipbreakingplatform.org.

 

For Human Rights Watch, in London, Meenakshi Ganguly (English, Bengali, Hindi): +91-9820-036-032 (mobile); or gangulm@hrw.org. Twitter: @mg2411

 

Breaking Out News Series – Unlocking Brazil’s potential in ship recycling

We are excited to launch our Breaking Out News Series, in anticipation of the second edition of our Ship Recycling Lab in Lisbon this October. Highlighting innovators who believe in competitive, responsible practices, we challenge damaging methods of ship dismantling on tidal beaches and advocate for safer, cleaner and smarter alternatives.

 

Our first post focuses on why Brazil is poised to become a significant player in the global ship recycling market. With its extensive coastline and robust maritime industry, many existing facilities, primarily engaged in shipbuilding and repair, have the potential to expand into recycling.

 

Professor Newton Pereira of Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) tells us that Brazil is likely to become an important destination for ship owners looking for the sustainable disposal of their assets. From already existing large infrastructure in the States of Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Pernambuco to strict national regulations on hazardous waste management, from a soon to be approved national bill mirroring the European Union Ship Recycling Regulation to the shift in policy of the countries oil and gas company Petrobras and the scrapping of Petrobras’ P-32 and P-33 in Brazil, the country stands on the cusp of radical transformation.

 

UFF plays a is crucial role in this transformation through its Center for Sustainable Systems Studies (CESS/UFF), which focuses on hazardous waste management, optimisation of recycling methods and the scrap steel market to ensure Brazil has a qualified workforce, innovation and resources needed to support its own solutions for ship recycling.

"At CESS, we are developing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies to manage hazardous waste on ships and in shipyards. Our goal is to ensure transparency and traceability in materials disposal. Specifically, we are exploring ways to automate the management of IHMs (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) on merchant vessels, offshore platforms, and abandoned ships scheduled for decommissioning, dismantling, and recycling. We are currently testing smart labels placed throughout vessels, which can be read remotely within seconds using unmanned vehicles. Additionally, we are working on a project looking at ways to destroy the hazardous characteristics of for example asbestos and glass wool by transforming them into marketable products such as glass."
Newton Pereira - Professor - Universidade Federal Fluminense
Prof. Newton Pereira with his team - © UFF

According to recent figures, dozens of fixed and floating oil and gas platforms and more than 300 large commercial ships regularly operating in Brazilian waters will be retired in the next decade. Brazil’s potential in ship recycling will be further explored by several experts, including Petrobras’ representatives and Professor Pereira, at the upcoming Ship Recycling Lab in Lisbon.

"The Lab is the perfect opportunity to discuss and present alternatives to dirty and dangerous shipbreaking. The concept of an ethical circular economy, which is the connecting thread of the event, represents the cornerstone for a cleaner industry aligned with the sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations. I am looking forward to highlighting Brazil's initiatives and capabilities in this forum and potentially forge new collaborations."
Newton Pereira - Professor - Universidade Federal Fluminense

Press Release – Norwegian Altera Infrastructure fined for beaching two ships in India

Trafficking toxic ships is an international environmental crime

 

Following a raid on Altera’s office four years ago, the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) issued a fine of NOK 8 million (approx. EUR 700,000) on 10 June to Norwegian shipping company Altera Infrastructure for having sold two vessels for scrapping India.

 

Økokrim is holding Altera Infrastructure, formerly known as Teekay Offshore, liable for the illegal export of the shuttle tankers NAVION BRITANNIA and ALEXITA SPIRIT. Both tankers were sold to cash buyer Wirana and beached in Alang, India, where they were scrapped under conditions that expose fragile ecosystems and workers to harm.

 

Police attorney Maria Bache Dahl stated that “Økokrim takes a serious view on the export of Norwegian operated end-of-life vessels to developing countries with far weaker legislation and enforcement mechanisms than what exists in Norway”. According to European and international law, hazardous waste, including end-of-life ships, cannot be exported from an EU/EFTA country to a non-OECD country under any circumstances.

 

Altera claims that they had intended to retro-fit the shuttle tankers. However, they sold the NAVION BRITANNIA and ALEXITA SPIRIT, as well as two other shuttle tankers, NORDIC SPIRIT and NAVION MARITA, to one of the most notorious cash buyers: Wirana, a scrap dealer specialised in the purchase of end-of-life vessels and known as middle-man for the South Asian beaching yards.

"The shipping industry is well aware that international environmental law, more specifically UNEP’s Basel Convention, restricts the trade of end-of-life vessels to developing countries. But because scrapping a ship on a tidal mudflat in South Asia is more profitable than doing it in a safe and environmentally sound manner in for example a dry-dock, false accounts of further operational use or repair work are provided to authorities in an attempt to avoid the law. To see that Økokrim, as well as other European enforcement agencies, are not dupe and now hold ship owners accountable for illegal waste trade is encouraging."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director & Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Altera, which has two weeks to appeal, is not the first company to face this type of charges. In recent years, several ship owners and individuals have been held liable by European Courts for violating international and European waste laws. In 2022, the Norwegian Supreme Court upheld a six month prison sentence for ship owner Georg Eide, after he attempted to illegally export of a vessel for scrapping in Pakistan. Wirana was also the cash buyer in that case and received a fine of NOK 7 million. Dutch ship owners, including  Seatrade and Jumbo, have paid similar fines, while Maran Tankers settled a compensation claim brought by the wife of a deceased Bangladeshi worker after the UK High Court confirmed that Maran Tankers likely did have an obligation to conduct due diligence when selling ships for scrap, and thus could be held liable for injury and death of workers when notoriously unsafe shipbreaking yards were selected. In the summer of 2021, the offices of several Hamburg-based ship owners were raided by the German police, and while investigations are ongoing, the Hamburg Public Prosecutor has pressed charges against three people for ship owner Peter Dohle Schiffahrts’ illegal scrapping of containership CS Discovery in India. In the UK and Iceland, cases involving another notorious cash buyer, GMS, are also still under investigation.

"Whilst enforcement officers are becoming increasingly aware of how the illegal trafficking of waste ships is conducted, it is key that EU policies are reviewed to render the enforcement of hazardous waste trade bans more effective. Existing limitations enabling police only to take action on vessels that either become waste in European waters or sail under an EU flag allow many ship owners to operate in impunity. EU laws should apply to all EU companies. The EU has an obligation to handle its own hazardous waste. The development of capacity to recycle vessels off the beach and closer to home, in line with circular economy objectives, would furthermore satisfy the increasing demand for scrap for the production of carbon accounted steel."
Ingvild Jenssen - Executive Director & Founder - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Press Release – Seatrade reaches settlement with Dutch Public Prosecution Service

Dutch ship owner Seatrade has reached a settlement with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service following the illegal export of four ships to India, Bangladesh, and Turkey for scrapping back in 2012. The agreement entails the payment of a total sum of 5,650,000 euros. Preventing further prosecution, fines totalling 2,650,000 euros were imposed on the shipping company and two of its directors, with an additional settlement of 3,000,000 euros.

 

On 15 March 2018, the District Court of Rotterdam found Seatrade and two of its directors guilty of violating the European Waste Shipment Regulation. However, this initial ruling was annulled by the Court of Appeal in The Hague on 30 June 2020, due to procedural irregularities, and a new trial was set to begin.

 

European legislation prohibits the export of toxic end-of-life ships from EU waters to non-OECD countries, and mandates specific procedures for the transboundary movements of hazardous waste within the OECD. Acknowledging their breach of existing rules applicable to ship recycling, the management of Seatrade expressed regret for the actions taken and committed to ensuring future compliance with all relevant laws.

Platform News – CirclesOfLife leads the charge toward sustainable shipyard practices

EU shipyards are raising standards through circular innovation and environmental accountability

 

The CirclesOfLife project (Enhancing material CIRCularity and Lower Emissions of Shipbuilding processes in all phases OF the LIFE cycle) spearheads the charge toward sustainable shipyard practices, with EU shipyards setting higher standards through circular innovation and environmental responsibility to revolutionise the shipbuilding, repairing, and recycling industry.

 

Comprising members from shipyards, industry associations, civil society organizations, academia, and classification societies, CirclesOfLife is a consortium committed to driving progress toward circular, zero-impact shipping through collaborative efforts.

 

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, as a member of this project, is ready to share its expertise and research on innovative solutions for safe and sustainable ship recycling characterised by a cross-sectoral approach, including the implementation of a ship material passport.

 

Key project initiatives slated for development over the next three years include:

- Establishing a shipyard environmental performance index (SEPI) and ship material passport to ensure ships are constructed for longevity and sustainability, with their materials recovered and recycled according to best practices.

- Empowering shipyards to monitor, assess, benchmark, and improve their environmental footprint.

- Providing transparency and accountability for informed decision-making and driving sustainable practices.

 

The Ship Recycling Lab 2024, an upcoming event organised by the Platform to foster positive change within the sector, will present the perfect opportunity for the member of the consortium to meet and present the project to a wider audience. Grab your tickets now to be part of this transformative event.

Press Release – Norwegian ambassador undermines Norwegian law

Bellona and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, along with several stakeholders within Norway's recycling and waste industry, have sent an open letter to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment. They strongly denounce the statements made by Norway's ambassador to Bangladesh, Espen Rikter-Svendsen, who in several international media outlets has urged Norwegian shipowners to send ships there for scrapping.

"Norwegian authorities must strengthen Norwegian recycling, not shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh known for violations of human rights and pollution."
Sigurd Enge - Senior Shipping Advisor - Bellona

In the letter to Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Climate and Environment Minister Anders Bjelland Eriksen, it is emphasised that Norway's ambassador to Bangladesh has encouraged violations of Norwegian and European legislation.

"EU regulations require that end-of-life ships are sent for recycling only to yards approved by EU member states. None of the yards in Bangladesh are approved for recycling ships sailing under European flags or ships sailing in the EU/EEA area. Safe and environmentally friendly ship recycling cannot be conducted in the intertidal zone. Moreover, it is prohibited under Norwegian and international law to export hazardous waste to Bangladesh."
Ingvild Jenssen - Founder and Executive Director - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

For many years, Bellona and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform have worked to end unethical and environmentally harmful ship scrapping on the beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The senders of the letter, which include both interest organisations and companies, aim to spotlight Norway's capacity for effective waste management and material recovery. To date, eight Norwegian yards are included in the EU list of approved ship recycling facilities.

 

The senders of the letter are:

  • Miljøstiftelsen Bellona
  • NGO Shipbreaking Platform
  • Norsk Industri
  • Avfall Norge
  • Norsk Forening for Farlig Avfall (NFFA)
  • NG Group
  • Stena Recycling
  • Green Yard
  • Fosen Gjenvinning
  • Norscrap
  • AF Offshore Decom

Press Release – Worst corporate dumpers asked to clean up their acts

Targeting sustainability and fleet managers, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform calls for the adoption of responsible ship recycling policies in letters sent to shipping companies standing out for their particularly poor shipbreaking practices, as revealed in the Platform’s Annual Dumpers List. [1]

 

The letters recall the irreversible environmental and human health impacts caused by the scrapping of end-of-life vessels on tidal beaches, and stress the sharp contrast with the strict hazardous waste management regulations enforced in major ship-owning countries. 

 

In an ongoing effort to rouse sector decision-makers from what appears to be a pervasive disregard of environmental regulation compliance, the Platform provides an overview of the international and regional legal frameworks governing ship recycling, including obligations to ensure environmentally sound management under UNEP’s Basel Convention. Highlighting the deficiencies of relying on the so-called Statements of Compliance with the upcoming Hong Kong Convention, the letters also underscore the significance of recently adopted legislation, such as the new UAE Ship Recycling Regulation, which prohibits beaching and landing.

"Constructive dialogue with shipping companies is paramount to incentivise the use of existing facilities that already provide safer and cleaner recovery operations. Collaboration with tech start-ups looking at ways to automate the sector and the scrap-hungry steel industry provides a way for ship owners to align their sustainability strategies with ethical material recovery, and will incentivise the development of capacity and infrastructure to transition ship recycling towards safe and green jobs."
Benedetta Mantoan - Policy Officer - NGO Shipbreaking Platform

In the spirit of transparency, the Platform is also reaching out to the corporate dumpers’ shareholders to raise awareness about the end-of-life practices of their portfolio businesses. [2]

 

 

NOTES

 

[1] List of targeted companies:

A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk), COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company), Dae Bok Shipping Co Ltd, Dae Yang Shipping Co Ltd, Daiichi Tanker Co Ltd, Danaos Shipping Co Ltd, Eurobulk Ltd, Evergreen Marine Corp, Golar LNG Ltd, Green Reefers, Hahn & Company, Hartmann AG, JFE Holdings Inc, Korea Line Corporation, Lavinia Corp, Marmaras Navigation Ltd, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Meratus Line PT, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, NYK Line, Sinokor Merchant Marine Co Ltd, Taiwan Navigation Co. Ltd, Tanto Intim Line PT, Transworld Group.

 

[2] In 2018, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund decided to exclude the shipping company Evergreen from their investment portfolio as Evergreen’s scrapping practices were seen to cause an “unacceptable risk that [Evergreen] contribute to serious environmental damage and gross human rights violations”.

SAVE THE DATE – 2nd Ship Recycling Lab

After the successful organisation of the first edition of the Ship Recycling Lab: Transformation Through Innovation back in 2022, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, still recognising the need for visionary solutions for ship recycling, is ready to host its second edition of the Lab on 9 -10 October 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

The event will bring together forward-thinking stakeholders from the maritime, recycling and steel sectors, financial institutions and policy makers to showcase and exchange ideas for best practices and strategies for ship demolition, design, waste management and material recovery in line with ethical circular policy goals.

 

Providing visibility to companies that have developed solutions, including innovative cutting techniques, new state-of-the-art waste handling procedures, cradle to cradle concept design, and clean steel breakthrough technologies aimed at achieving a zero-carbon steel making process, the Lab intends to set the bar for tomorrow’s ship recycling.

 

Come join us and 100+ progressive stakeholders for networking opportunities, inspiring keynote speaker sessions, thought-provoking presentations and interactive panel discussions.

 

Early bird tickets are now on sale! Get them fast before they run out!