Ship Recycling in India

Syllabus: GS3/Economy; Environment

In Context

• India has emerged as a leading destination for environmentally sound ship recycling.

Ship recycling

• It refers to the process of dismantling vessels with the purpose of extracting and recovering materials for reuse, particularly the steel.
• It is an integral part of the maritime lifecycle, enabling ships that have reached the end of their operational life to be dismantled in a safe, environmentally sound and resource-efficient manner.

Present Status in India

• India’s ship recycling sector has evolved into a modern and internationally aligned industry.
• India ranked first globally in ship recycling in 2025. 
• India’s contribution of global ship recycling increased to 35.4% in 2025, up from 30.1% in 2024. 
• In India, the volume of ship recycling increased from 1.86 million Gross Tonnes (GT) in 2024 to 2.99 million GT in 2025. That’s an almost 60 per cent increase in the volume being recycled.
• India aims to nearly double its ship recycling capacity to about 9 million light displacement tons (LDT) under the Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030. 

Importance 

• Environmental: Controls re-use of ship for disposal of end-of-life ships
  • Less chance of marine and coastal pollution.
  • Hazardous materials are recycled appropriately for safe handling, and strict regulatory control.
  • It also contributes to reduction of Green House Gases and pushes India’s sustainability and de-carbonisation goals.
• Sector resources: The steel industry is the largest user of ferrous waste from ship recycling in the country.
  • It lowers reliance on imported raw materials and enhances security of supply.
    • We are heading to a circular economy and efficient use of resources with the recovery of steel and its reuse.
    • Steel from recycled steel takes far less energy than steel from virgin sources. 
• Economic and Industrial: Ship recycling generates large scale employment opportunities.
  • The more jobs would be created through large number of subsidiaries & activites. This comprises transport, re-rolling mills, equipment suppliers and waste management services:

Initiatives taken by government

• The Alang-Sosiya ship recycling cluster in Gujarat forms the backbone of India’s recycling capacity.
  • It is recognised as the world’s largest ship recycling hub. The cluster accounts for approximately 98% of India’s ship recycling activity. 
  • India aims to nearly double its ship recycling capacity to about 9 million light displacement tons (LDT).
• Ship Recycling Act, 2019: The Act provides the primary legal framework for regulating ship recycling in India.
  • It gives domestic effect to international standards. It also designates the Directorate General of Shipping as the National Authority. 
  • The Act mandates authorisation, certification, inspection, and enforcement mechanisms.
• Ship Recycling Rules, 2021: The Rules operationalise the Act by prescribing procedural and technical requirements.
  • These include facility authorisation, ship recycling plans, hazardous material management, worker safety, training, and reporting obligations.
• Ship Recycling Regulations, 2026: The Regulations strengthen implementation through detailed operational, safety, and environmental standards.
  • They support uniform compliance and effective monitoring across ship recycling facilities.
• The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships is the principal international instrument governing ship recycling.
  • It lays down legally binding requirements for ships and recycling facilities.
• Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM). It is an important part of environmentally sound ship recycling.
  • It identifies and catalogues hazardous materials on board ships during their working lives and prior to recycling. 
• India has a life-cycle compliance system. This would ensure transparency, traceability and proper risk mitigation before the ship recycling at licensed recycling facilities.
• Scheme for Issuance of Credit Notes for Ship Breaking Scheme for Issuance of Credit Notes for Ship Breaking is being formulated under the Ship Building Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFA) 2.0 to incentivise ship owners to recycle ships at compliant ship recycling yards in India. 

Source :PIB