Starting from the beginning of 2019, China will stop permitting foreign-flagged vessels to be dismantled at its shipyards, according to an official announcement by the government last week.
Chinese-flagged ships will still be allowed to be recycled internally at its local shipyards. However, state grants ended last year, so even Chinese vessels are expected to head to Indian shipyards, local media report.
China has been trying to address its pollution problem for the past couple of years, restricting more and more the import of waste products, under its Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution Law (2005). 24 types of solid waste in four categories were added on the Ban List as of 1 January 2018 alone. The regulations will be amended again by the end of 2018 and the end of 2019.
As a result from these, several Chinese shipyards have not taken licences for ship recycling, which may turn shipowners around the world towards the Indian ship recycling facilities in Alang, especially following their upgrade in recent years to meet the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention.
According to NGO Shipbreaking Platform figures from its annual report, China ranked fourth in ship recycling, with 11% of the gross tonnage dismantled globally, after India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
