EU expands list of approved ship recycling yards

The European Commission adopted the 11^th edition of the European List of ship recycling facilities, which has been updated with three new yards located in Türkiye.

The facilities in question are Anadolu Gemi Söküm Orman Ürn. Gida Tur. Nak, San. Ve Tic. A.Ş., BMS Gemi Geri Dönüşüm San Ve Tic. A.Ş. and Kiliçlar Geri Dönüşümlü Maddeler Ve Metal San.Tic A.Ş.

The commission has also extended the date of expiry of the inclusion of two listed yards located in Denmark and one listed yard located in Italy. These relate to San Giorgio del Porto S.p.A. from Italy, and Modern American Recycling Services Europe (M.A.R.S. Europe), and Fayard A/S from Denmark.

The list now contains 48 ship-recycling facilities, including 38 yards in Europe (EU, Norway and UK), 9 yards in Türkiye, and 1 yard in the USA.

The commission said that several yards on the European List are also capable of recycling large vessels.

The list lies at the heart of the implementation of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, which mandates compliance with a number of safety and environmental requirements. It is regularly updated to add further compliant facilities or to remove facilities that have ceased to comply.

For facilities located in the EU, competent national authorities must check that all the relevant conditions are met, and then inform the commission that the facility should be listed.

Ship recycling facilities located in third countries and intending to recycle ships flying a flag of a member state have to apply to the commission for inclusion in the European List. The commission then evaluates whether these yards comply with the requirements in the regulation and proposes their inclusion in the list when relevant requirements are met.

European ship owners possess around 40% of the world’s fleet. Many of these ships are being dismantled outside the EU, mainly in South Asia, under conditions that are often harmful to workers’ health and the environment.

Since 31 December 2018, the EU Ship Recycling Regulation has been requiring all large sea-going vessels sailing under an EU Member State flag to use an approved ship recycling facility.

The commission is currently carrying out the evaluation of the Ship Recycling Regulation. An open public consultation took place in the first half of 2023 and targeted consultations of different stakeholders’ groups are still ongoing.

The dismantling of ships plays a vital role in the decarbonization of the shipping industry. Proper shipbreaking practices ensure the safe and sustainable disposal of end-of-life vessels, reducing environmental impacts and promoting resource recycling.

Recently, significant progress has been made on a global level with the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention on Shipbreaking. This international agreement sets standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling, encouraging responsible practices and minimizing pollution and worker safety risks in shipbreaking yards.