The NGO Shipbreaking Platform reports that ship recycling is emerging as a crucial lever in the European Union’s upcoming Circular Economy Act, offering a way to boost circularity while reducing carbon emissions in key industrial sectors.
According to the Platform, a sharp increase in aging vessels—many of which will reach end-of-life soon—presents Europe with a strategic opportunity to funnel high-quality ship steel back into its own steel and construction industries.
A central argument is that ship recycling can help decarbonise the EU’s steel and construction sectors. The NGO points out that ships are largely made of steel, and with predictions of a five-fold increase in ship dismantling over the next decade, more than 100 million tonnes of reusable ship steel could become available. Recycled steel from ships could reduce CO₂ emissions significantly, since using recycled steel saves about 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ per ton compared to using virgin steel. The Platform also highlights pilot projects where steel from retired vessels has been reused directly in construction.
On the other hand, the Platform warns that most end-of-life ships today are dismantled in unsafe facilities outside Europe, particularly on the beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Shockingly, only about 1% of EU-owned vessels are currently recycled within Europe.
The Platform makes several key policy recommendations it wants included in the Circular Economy Act:
- Prioritising eco-design and upcycling to favour reuse over simple recycling.
- Formally recognising the EU-owned ship fleet as a “material bank” of high-quality secondary raw material.
- Introducing a Ship Material Passport to improve transparency of ship-derived materials.
- Setting public procurement targets for recycled ship materials.
- Creating a ship recycling return scheme to incentivise circular practices in the maritime sector.
- Supporting innovation and research in circular ship recycling.
- Closing loopholes in regulation, especially by revisiting the EU Ship Recycling Regulation.
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform also strongly urges the European Commission to take decisive action against hazardous and unsafe offshore dismantling.
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Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform
