Shipowners Urge EU Listing of Two Alang Ship Recycling Yards
European Shipowners, the association of EU shipowners (ECSA), has called on Members of the European Parliament to support a proposal that would add two Indian ship recycling yards to the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities. Both yards, YSI Recycling Services LLP and Shree Ram Vessel Scrap Pvt Ltd, are at Alang-Sosiya in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, on the Gulf of Khambhat along India’s west coast. Alang is one of the world’s largest ship recycling centres.
The European Commission proposed the two yards in July 2026, after a long inspection process found that they meet the standards of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. On 4 November, the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee will vote on a motion objecting to the proposal.
ECSA Secretary General Sotiris Raptis described the listing as “a long-awaited and very welcome step” that rewards the yards’ investment in meeting EU standards. The association also argues that yards inside the EU cannot handle the number of ships expected to be recycled in the coming years. The global shipping industry backed the proposal in a joint statement and an open letter to EU ministers in September.
If approved, EU-flagged ships could legally be recycled at the two Alang yards. That would be a major recognition of the safety and environmental upgrades made at Alang over the past decade and could bring more work to Gujarat’s recycling sector.
Higher, internationally checked standards at recycling yards also mean safer conditions for the crews who deliver ships on their final voyage and for the workers who dismantle them.
