India has emerged as the world’s leading ship recycling nation, with its share of the global market increasing from 30.1% in 2024 to 35.4% in 2025, according to data cited by the government from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
India recycled approximately 2.99 million Gross Tonnes (GT) of ships in 2025, compared with 1.86 million GT in 2024. This represents an increase of nearly 60% in recycling volume in a single year.
The achievement also means India reached the target under the Maritime India Vision 2030 five years ahead of schedule.
The country’s ship recycling industry, traditionally associated with ship dismantling, is undergoing a broader transformation focused on worker safety, environmental protection, resource recovery and compliance with international standards.
Ship recycling plays an important role in the maritime industry’s lifecycle.
When vessels reach the end of their operational lives, recycling allows steel and other materials to be recovered and reused rather than discarded. This contributes to the circular economy and reduces demand for newly extracted resources.
India’s growing recycling volumes have also strengthened the country’s position in the global maritime industry.
The recycled steel generated through ship recycling provides an important source of ferrous scrap for India’s steel sector. Reusing steel can require significantly less energy than producing primary steel and can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The industry also supports several connected sectors, including:
- Steel re-rolling
- Transportation
- Equipment supply
- Waste management
- Material recovery
- Industrial services
Together, these activities generate employment and contribute to industrial production.
The Alang-Sosiya ship recycling cluster in Gujarat remains the backbone of India’s ship recycling sector.
The cluster accounts for approximately 98% of India’s ship recycling activity and is described as the world’s largest ship recycling hub.
Alang has an annual recycling capacity of around 6 million GT and produces approximately 3.50 million metric tonnes of steel annually through ship recycling.
Over the years, the facilities at Alang have undergone significant modernisation, with greater emphasis on safety, environmental compliance and efficient material handling.
The cluster includes authorised recycling yards, steel re-rolling facilities and waste management infrastructure, creating an integrated industrial ecosystem around ship recycling.
India is now looking to further strengthen its position in the global market.
The country plans to increase its ship recycling capacity to approximately 9 million Light Displacement Tonnes (LDT).
A comprehensive master plan has been prepared for the development of the Alang Ship Recycling Yard, focusing on infrastructure upgrades and improving the competitiveness of Indian facilities.
Worker training is also becoming an important part of the industry’s transformation.
The Safety Training and Labour Welfare Institute at Alang-Sosiya has cumulatively trained more than 1.5 lakh workers in areas including occupational safety, hazardous material handling and emergency response.
Apart from Gujarat, ship recycling facilities are also located at Amar Iron Udyog in Kolkata and Steel Industrials Kerala Limited (SILK) in Kerala.
Indian ship recycling yards have increasingly adopted infrastructure designed to minimise environmental and occupational risks.
Modernised facilities feature:
- Engineered and demarcated recycling plots
- Impermeable working surfaces
- Drainage systems
- Mechanised material-handling equipment
- Segregated hazardous-waste storage areas
- Authorised waste treatment and disposal arrangements
- Safety and emergency-response systems
These measures are intended to provide safer working environments while ensuring that hazardous materials generated during ship recycling are handled under regulatory supervision.
India’s ship recycling industry is now governed by a comprehensive statutory framework.
The Ship Recycling Act, 2019 provides the primary legal framework for the sector and incorporates international standards into India’s domestic regulatory system.
The legislation designates the Directorate General of Shipping as the National Authority and provides for mechanisms covering:
- Yard authorisation
- Certification
- Inspection
- Compliance
- Enforcement
The Ship Recycling Rules, 2021 provide additional procedural and technical requirements covering ship recycling plans, hazardous materials, worker safety, training and reporting.
The Ship Recycling Regulations, 2026 further strengthen operational, environmental and safety requirements and seek to promote more uniform compliance across recycling facilities.
Together, these measures regulate the recycling process from vessel preparation and certification through yard operations and compliance monitoring.
A major part of India’s regulatory transformation has been alignment with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
The convention entered into force on June 26, 2025, establishing international requirements for safer and environmentally responsible ship recycling.
India has aligned its domestic framework with the convention through the Ship Recycling Act, Rules and Regulations.
The government has also provided ₹53.5 crore in financial assistance for modernising ship recycling yards.
According to the information provided, this support has helped 115 facilities achieve compliance with the Hong Kong Convention.
India is also seeking greater access to environmentally conscious international markets.
According to the information provided, 35 ship recycling yards at Alang, Gujarat, have applied for inclusion on the European Union’s green list, with the EU having initiated its inspection process.
Shree Ram Vessel Scrap and Y. S. Investments have been included in the draft of the 16th European List of Ship Recycling Facilities.
EU recognition could further strengthen the international credibility of compliant Indian recycling facilities and potentially improve their access to global shipowners seeking environmentally responsible recycling options.
India’s emergence as the world’s leading ship recycling nation reflects more than an increase in the number of vessels being dismantled.
The sector is increasingly being positioned around regulatory compliance, environmental responsibility, worker safety and circular-economy principles.
With Alang-Sosiya accounting for the overwhelming majority of India’s recycling activity, Gujarat will remain central to this transformation.
At the same time, capacity expansion, international certification, hazardous-material management and incentives linking recycling with shipbuilding could help India strengthen its position in the global maritime value chain.
The government’s long-term objective is therefore not simply to recycle more ships, but to build a safer, more environmentally responsible and globally competitive ship recycling ecosystem.
