Happy 2026! The Shipbreaking Platform team would like to wish you all a year full of happiness, compassion, and good energy. We all need it!
In the second issue of Shipbreaking Monthly, and the first in 2026, we will cover news and activities from the end of last year, share our positions on the upcoming legislation, and many more.
European Parliament adopts the Omnibus I deregulation package
With the final vote on the Omnibus deregulation package, the European Union’s leadership in sustainable transition is now history. On the 16th of December, the European Parliament adopted this set of laws which is a major step back from the necessary path towards corporate accountability.
We are hereby sharing the position of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice.
What does it entail?
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has been significantly watered down. The adopted package removed the climate transition plans, which required large companies to reduce their climate impact. In addition, civil liability, supposed to remove barriers for victims of corporate abuse to search for justice, has also been scrapped.
This is a big loss to civil society and nature, and a gift to large corporate players handed over on a silver platter of ‘simplification’ crafted by the alliance of center-right and far-right parties in the European Parliament. Nevertheless, the battle is not over. EU Member States have 3 years to transpose this legislation to national laws. It is important to highlight that the EU framework is a minimum, and member states can still adopt stronger laws protecting people and the planet.
EU must act on full potential of ship recycling
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, joined by Recycling Europe and EUROFER, published a joint statement calling the EU to recognise ship recycling as a sector of strategic importance. In the statement, the signing parties highlighted the numerous benefits of ship recycling for the European steel market in light of circularity and the green transition towards low-carbon production methods, and outlined concrete policy actions needed to unlock its full potential.
As outlined in our recent report on scrap steel from ships, ship recycling has an untapped potential to decarbonise European steelmaking. In order to get there, several policy measures would need to be introduced:
– Closing the re-flagging loophole in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation by enlarging its scope to the real owners of vessels,
– A true level playing field: only fully compliant yards approved,
– Investment & financing to scale EU ship recycling capacity,
– Transparency from shipowners on fleet retirement plans,
– Recognition of ship recycling in the upcoming Circular Economy Act.
Bringing back ship recycling to the EU is also a question of environmental justice as ships contain many hazardous materials of which the export to South Asian beaches is prohibited by international law. The EU should take responsibility for its ships and ensure their safe and environmentally sound recycling. Strengthening the domestic ship recycling sector will contribute to the EU’s circularity objectives, its strategic material autonomy, while creating green jobs in synergy with the steel market.
European Commission consultation on the EU-approved ship recycling facilities’ list update
The long-awaited consultation on the 15th update of the European List of ship recycling facilities has been launched by the European Commission. The feedback period closed on the 31st of December. As the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, we call on the EU to remove all Turkish ship recycling facilities that use the landing method, support the non-inclusion of Indian ‘beaching’ yards, and urge the EU to support capacity development in line with the circularity and decarbonisation objectives.
We have been drawing attention to the conditions in Aliağa shipbreaking yards, highlighting the fact that their inclusion on the EU list creates a dangerous double standard, where unsafe landing is approved, even though at no condition would it be allowed in any EU member state. In November last year, we joined the Turkish civil society groups calling the EU to revoke the approvals of ship recycling yards that put workers and the environment at risk.
No Indian ship recycling yard has been included in the draft proposal for the updated list, which reflects our strong position against beaching – the most dangerous and polluting method of ship dismantling. We take the firm position that the inclusion on the EU list should be a proof of already existing safe and environmentally sound conditions, not a reward for improvements planned in undefined future.
Furthermore, we urge the European Commission to lead by example and enhance capacity in the EU to recycle the many ships that will head for scrap in the coming years. Enhancing domestic capacity for ship recycling provides a strategic opportunity for the EU to secure a steady supply of high quality secondary scrap for the decarbonisation of the steel and construction sectors, and provides coherence with EU environmental policies aimed at preventing the export of hazardous materials from the EU.
Meet & Greet with the European Ship Recycling Group
We had a pleasure to exchange with important actors from the ship recycling sector, including Galloo, Kishorn Port Ltd, and Smedegaarden A/S at the European Ship Recycling Group meeting hosted by Recycling Europe.
How to get there? By boosting demand for recycled materials, and by increasing recyclers’ competitiveness.
Benedetta Mantoan from our NGO presented the findings of our recent report on scrap steel and its numerous benefits in light of the decarbonisation of European steelmaking. Ship Material Passport, currently developed by CirclesOfLife, can address the challenge of value and material loss.
Conclusions of the following open discussions?
– EU Ship Recycling Regulation, based on the Hong Kong Convention from 2009, needs improvements in order to close legal loopholes, which penalise companies willing to follow environmental and human rights norms,
– The EU has the know-how and the capacities for state-of-the-art ship recycling – proper policy support will be crucial to maintain our leadership,
– Basel Convention and Hong Kong Convention both apply – end-of-life ships destined for dismantling are waste, and therefore must be treated in a secure manner here,
– Oppsirk shows that economically viable solutions are there, let’s scale them up!
Big thank you to Recycling Europe and the other partners for fruitful discussions!
Shipbreaking: Inside the World’s Most Dangerous Job
When oil tankers, freighters and cruise ships reach the end of their lives, nearly all wind up on just three beaches in South Asia. There, unskilled workers earning just a few dollars a day tear them apart with hand tools and blowtorches, to be sold as scrap. The shipbreaking industry has remained unchanged for decades, despite its well-documented dangers to the environment and worker safety. But after a deadly explosion in Pakistan, and a risky investigation in Bangladesh, are changes finally coming?
A new episode of Lawless Planet podcast with Zach Goldbaum is out. Ingvild Jenssen from NGO Shipbreaking Platform and Julia Bleckner from Human Rights Watch were interviewed to share their knowledge and talk about the dangerous shipbreaking on Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani beaches, accidents and contamination, flags of convenience, circumventing international laws…
News from CirclesOfLife
CirclesOfLife project, developing innovative solutions for emissions reduction, material circularity, and environmental reporting in the entire shipbuilding supply chain, has been going on for two years already. At this crucial moment, the 15 partner organisations met in December in Bremen, Germany, for a two-day general assembly.
The highlight of the event was the first demonstration of the Shipyard Environmental Performance Index software tool, which enables shipyards to map their newbuild, repair, and end-of-life processes, offering data-driven leads for reducing emissions.
This is the final year of the project, and we are excited to collaborate with inspiring partners from all over Europe in the journey for a truly sustainable, data-driven, and solutions-oriented shipbuilding sector of the future. Soon, the Ship Material Passport will be ready, promotinh the reuse and recycling of components, reducing waste and fostering a circular economy within the wider maritime industry.
For more information on the CirclesOfLife project, visit the website, the LinkedIn page and the YouTube channel.
That’s all for this issue of Shipbreaking Monthly. We hope you enjoyed the read. Soon, we will start promoting our bi-annual big event that will take place in October this year.
Stay tuned!
Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform
