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Only 5% of EU ships’ tonnage was dismantled in Europe despite the capacity to recycle much more. Vast majority of end-of-life ships are sent for beaching in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh under poor environmental and safety standards.
The vast majority of EU-owned or EU-flagged ships are being scrapped under poor conditions in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while EU-located ship recycling facilities operate under capacity, a new study from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and T&E shows. This is both an environmental scandal and a loss of high-quality materials for the EU economy, say the NGOs, who issued a report concluding that the EU has enough domestic capacity to recycle all EU-flagged and EU-owned vessels.
Between 2019 and 2025, 706 EU-flagged and/or EU-owned ships were dismantled worldwide. Only 22% were recycled in EU-located facilities, representing just 5% of the total tonnage. Nearly half were beached in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan — 66% of total tonnage. The remaining ships were dismantled mostly in Turkish shipbreaking yards.
