NGO Shipbreaking Platform in a statement, urged the EU to take action to end the dumping of toxic ships and to support capacity building.
The European Commission has published its evaluation of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR). The evaluation clearly identifies several issues that hinder the effectiveness of the EU SRR, including circumvention of the regulation through out-flagging and a lack of detailed EU standards for hazardous waste management and environmental monitoring. Yet, the Commission does not consider a swift revision of the EU SRR an adequate response, according to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. As identified in the evaluation, the EU SRR has not delivered the expected outcomes in terms of increasing the market share for sustainable ship recycling. With no immediate plans for a review of the EU SRR, we urge the Commission to effectively adopt alternative measures that will boost capacity for sustainable ship recycling and prevent European shipping companies from dumping their toxic ships on beaches in South Asia.
..said Ingvild Jenssen, Executive Director and Founder, NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
The evaluation also announces an upcoming report on the feasibility of introducing a return scheme for ships trading in the EU to incentivise the use of EU-approved ship recycling facilities. Additionally, it aims to clarify the application of corrective and punitive actions in cases where deficiencies are identified during ship recycling facility inspections and highlights unannounced inspections as an essential tool for ensuring the effectiveness of the EU SRR.
As stated, to prevent the loss of skills in both the maritime and circular economy sectors and to boost capacity for handling the increasing number of vessels expected to reach end-of-life in the coming years, the EU’s approach to ship recycling must uphold the Polluter Pays principle and contribute to the general policy objectives of the European Green Deal, including optimised material recovery and zero-emission industrial activities.
When formulating targets and policy measures under the Circular Economy Act, the Steel and Metals Action Plan, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and the new Clean Industrial Deal, ship recycling must be recognised as a key contributor to the decarbonisation of the European steel sector.
Furthermore, the evaluation finds that the standards set by the EU SRR and their implementation are not sufficiently aligned with EU safety and environmental acquis. Consequently, the Commission intends to develop clearer criteria for the EU approval of ship recycling facilities.
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform recommends incorporating measures to optimise material recovery from ships, particularly steel recycling operations. Clear requirements for environmental, health, and safety monitoring and reporting must also be established to ensure that all yards on the EU List operate fully in line with EU standards. While the shipping industry is pressuring the EU to accept Indian beaching yards onto the EU List, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform warned that such a move would blatantly undermine the EU SRR’s objective of creating a level playing field that benefits yards operating in line with the EU safety and environmental acquis. It would also seriously threaten the future of the EU ship recycling sector and the recent investments made to establish new ship recycling facilities based on industrial platforms that provide full containment.
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform supports the EU’s efforts to take international leadership in amending the Hong Kong Convention to align with the EU SRR while ensuring full and effective implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal as it applies to end-of-life ships.
Moreover, the Polluter Pays principle and Extended Producer Responsibility are fundamental principles of EU environmental policies and must also apply to the shipping sector. By holding EU-based shipping companies accountable, regardless of their vessels’ flags, many more ships would fall under EU regulations, ensuring alignment with broader EU corporate accountability policies.
The current opacity of ownership structures in the shipping sector poses several problems, and transparency regarding the European shipping sector’s Beneficial Owners should be ensured, starting with the public disclosure of ownership details for the 21,000 ships classified as EU-owned.
