NGO Warns EU Approval Of Indian Shipbreaking Yards Could Create ‘Chilling Double Standard’

The European Commission is facing calls to remove two Indian shipbreaking facilities from its proposed updated list of approved ship recycling yards after an environmental group warned their inclusion would weaken the European Union’s ship recycling standards.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform said the Commission’s proposal to add Shree Ram and YSI Recyclers, both located in the Alang-Sosiya shipbreaking hub in Gujarat, India, to the 16th update of the EU List of ship recycling facilities marks a major change from previous editions of the list.

The Commission has opened a public consultation on the proposed update. It also plans to remove another Turkish shipbreaking yard from the list because of recurring deficiencies.

According to the NGO, approving the two beaching yards would raise concerns about the future direction of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR), which is intended to ensure ships are recycled safely and in an environmentally sound way.

The group said that if the Commission’s assessment allows facilities that pose risks to coastal ecosystems, workers and nearby communities to be approved, the regulation’s objectives would not be achieved.

Beaching, the main method used for shipbreaking in South Asia, involves dismantling ships directly on tidal mudflats without infrastructure to contain pollution.

The NGO said this allows debris and hazardous materials, including oil, fuel and liquid chemical residues, to enter seawater and contribute to environmental damage.

“None of the beaching yards would be allowed to clone their operations on a tidal mudflat in the EU. Their inclusion on the EU List will set a chilling double standard and seriously undermine the EU’s own ship recycling sector,” said Ingvild Jenssen, Executive Director and Founder of NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

The organisation also referred to a heavy fuel spill at the Priya Blue shipbreaking yard in June 2026. It said the spill contaminated large areas of the Gujarat coast and was visible up to 10 kilometres from the yard.

Although the yard said it responded immediately, the NGO argued the incident showed the difficulty of containing pollutants when ships are dismantled on tidal mudflats.

The group also said these operations violate coastal regulation zone boundaries. While Indian courts have generally favoured regulating the practice rather than banning it, environmental groups believe the current framework is not enough to ensure safe and environmentally sound ship recycling because of the environmental and occupational health risks associated with beaching.

The NGO also pointed to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which the European Union and its member states have signed. End-of-life ships are covered under the convention as hazardous waste.

It said the convention aims to prevent hazardous waste from being exported to countries that do not have the capacity to manage it safely. The Basel Ban Amendment also prohibits the movement of hazardous waste from OECD countries to non-OECD countries.

“While the EU has a responsibility to ensure that it does not export harm to third countries, the standards of the EU SRR cannot change based on the location. Every yard on the EU List should be subject to the same rules and procedures. If not, compliant yards in the EU will continue to face unfair competition,” Jenssen said.

She urged the European Commission to reject practices that would not be allowed within the European Union and to prevent the shipping industry from taking advantage of weaker environmental and occupational health and safety standards.

The European Commission’s public consultation on the proposed 16th update of the EU List of ship recycling facilities is ongoing, and the proposed inclusion of the two Indian yards will be considered before a final decision is made.

Reference: shipbreakingplatform