Update on 23 Feb 2025:
On 19 Feb 2025, the European Commission published the results of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) evaluation. The report and the accompanying document (Commission Staff Working Document) can be downloaded at link and link.
The evaluation report highlighted that;
- the EU SRR’s effectiveness has been significantly undermined through the practice of shipowners changing the ship’s flag from an EU Member State’s flag to a non-EU flag shortly before being recycled, incentivised by the additional revenue from selling end-of-life vessels to South Asian yards.
- hazardous materials inventories are still too often absent during the vessel’s operational life. At the recycling stage, the quality of inventories is often insufficient.
EU Evaluation next steps:
- This evaluation precedes the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) in June 2025, with the EU’s belief that it is less stringent than the EU Ship Recycling Regulation in some areas. The Commission plans to assess how HKC will be implemented and possibly improved towards stricter global standards.
- The EU will focus on preventing EU-flagged ships from circumventing their obligations to have these ships recycled in EU-listed facilities, clarifying standards and ensuring penalties for infringements.
