Report: Capacity of South Asia recycling facilities

Published: 25 November 2024

The report focuses on the ship recycling facilities in South Asia, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It highlights the significant changes in the industry since the late 1990s, with India leading the way in advancements, followed by Bangladesh developing their ship recycling facilities to deliver safe and environmentally sound recycling.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) will come into force on 26 June 2025, requiring compliance from facilities in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

The report identifies four main challenges:

Capacity: Increasing the annual recycling rate and clearing the back lock of ships that have not been recycled when expected.

Compliance: Meeting the HKC deadline with sufficient capacity.

Certification: Ensuring reliable and standardized certificates of compliance. It will have to be done by the authorities in the recycling states.

Capability: Catering to the future recycling needs of ships taking into consideration the increase in number and size of ships.

The report also discusses the role of class societies and independent verifiers in certification, the need for better landside infrastructure, and the potential for shipowners to partner with and invest in ship recycling facilities.

Finally, the report explores the coexistence of the HKC and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (BC), concluding that both are valuable and can coexist.

Actions

Increase capacity: Rapidly develop compliant capacity to increase the annual recycling rate and clear the backlog of ships that has built up due to low recycling rates in recent years.

Achieve compliance: Ensure that facilities in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan meet the Hong Kong International Convention (HKC) compliance deadline of 26 June 2025.

Ensure reliable certification: Work with class societies and independent verifiers to ensure that certificates of compliance are reliable and up to a certain standard.

Build capability: Develop the capability to handle the future recycling needs of large number ships that will be ready for recycling in the next decade.

Invest in Infrastructure: Improve landside infrastructure, including downstream waste management, roads, hospitals, and accommodation, with potential investment from shipowners and other stakeholders.

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