GMS pushes EU to recognise India’s ship recycling capacity

GMS, the world’s largest cash buyer of ships for recycling, has called on the European Commission to approve qualified Indian ship recycling yards for inclusion on the European List under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR).

Over 110 Indian yards already hold Hong Kong Convention (HKC) Statements of Compliance issued by IACS member classification societies, however after more than a decade, 35 formal applications, and at least 10 Commission-led inspections, not a single Indian facility has made the list.

“This is not a failure of standards. It is not a failure of verification. It is a failure of political will,” Anil Sharma’s GMS said.

India has dismantled over 8,500 vessels in the past 40 years, recovering more than 67m tonnes of steel. Alang alone can recycle 4.5m LDT per year, surpassing the combined capacity of all yards currently approved by the EU.

GMS lifecycle analysis found that recycling steel at Alang emits 58% less CO₂ than producing virgin steel, and more than 98% of ship materials are recovered. Most European facilities melt nearly all scrap steel and export it to Asia, generating higher emissions, GMS noted, adding that transport emissions add further inefficiency: moving a panamax bulker to Europe can produce 3,800 tonnes of CO₂, with an additional 600 tonnes for a large crude carrier diverted 3,000 nautical miles.

Modern Indian yards operate on concrete floors with closed-loop drainage, and hazardous materials are managed under mandatory Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHMs) and state-controlled disposal systems. GMS stressed that compliance is based on infrastructure and enforcement, not geography.

The EU’s refusal to approve Indian yards cites the Basel Convention’s Ban Amendment, restricting hazardous waste exports from OECD to non-OECD countries. GMS argued this law predates India’s modernisation of ship recycling. India ratified the HKC in 2019, ahead of most EU member states.

GMS is urging the European Commission to approve qualified Indian yards, recognise the Hong Kong Convention as the global standard, and resolve Basel–HKC conflicts through facility-level assessments instead of blanket geographic bans.

With projections from BIMCO showing 15,000 vessels will need recycling by 2032, Europe’s list lacks the capacity to meet demand. Meanwhile, India’s ship recycling industry supports roughly 15,000 direct jobs and more than 500,000 indirect livelihoods.

“The yards at Alang have invested heavily, retrained thousands of workers, rebuilt infrastructure and achieved one of the lowest lifecycle carbon footprints of any major recycling model globally. They have undergone repeated audits and received certification from leading classification societies. Yet the European Commission continues to withhold approval without transparent justification. This undermines the credibility of the EU’s own sustainability objectives.” said Kiran Thorat, trader at GMS.

source : splash247