Most EU Ships Are Being Scrapped in South Asia Despite Sufficient Domestic Recycling Capacity, Confirms New Study

A recent study reveals that the majority of EU-owned or EU-flagged ships are being dismantled in poor conditions in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, despite having sufficient domestic recycling capacity in the EU. The NGOs Shipbreaking Platform and T&E found that only 22% of 706 EU-flagged and/or EU-owned ships dismantled between 2019 and 2025 were recycled in EU facilities, representing just 5% of the total tonnage.

Most were beached in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, making up 66% of the total tonnage. The remaining ships were mostly dismantled in Turkish yards. This practice is detrimental to the environment, as well as a loss of high-quality materials for the EU economy. EU-located ship recycling facilities operate under capacity, while EU shipowners evade regulations and export millions of tonnes of recoverable steel to third markets.

The EU Waste Shipment Regulation prohibits ships from becoming waste in EU waters from being exported to non-OECD countries, while the EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires EU-flagged vessels to use approved facilities. However, shipowners often reflag or falsely claim to continue operations, leading to the EU continuing to export toxic waste in the form of end-of-life vessels.

The European Commission plans to add beaching ship recycling facilities to the EU's approved list, which may penalize responsible European industry and reward harmful practices. Up to 12,000 EU-owned ships could reach end of life in the next decade, potentially yielding up to 12 million tonnes of steel yearly through secondary steel production via electric arc furnaces using recycled scrap.

The EU must ban beaching, align its policies with its declared circularity and decarbonisation pledges, and actively promote best practices in the ship recycling sector to ensure a level playing field globally.