In the 7th edition of the European List of ship recycling facilities, the European Commission has four new yards to the List. These include notably two European yards, one in Denmark and Norway, and two more yards in Turkey.
With the addition of these new yards, ship owners of EU-flagged vessels will now have a wider range of choices to get their vessels dismantled in the future.
With the new update, the European List of ship recycling facilities currently contains 43 yards, including 34 yards in Europe, 8 yards in Turkey and 1 yard in the USA. Several yards on the European List are also capable of recycling large vessels.
With the new update, the Commission has also extended the date of expiry of inclusion of some existing yards, and has removed some European yards that are no longer involved in ship recycling activities or have not had their authorisations to conduct ship recycling renewed.
European ship owners own 35% of the world fleet. A large percentage of these is being dismantled under conditions which are often harmful to workers’ health and the environment. From 31 December 2018, the EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires all large sea-going vessels sailing under an EU Member State flag to use an approved ship recycling facility included in the European List.
With the adoption of the updated List, the European Commission has taken an important step to help ensure that ships are recycled in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound.
The European List is regularly updated, to add further compliant facilities or to remove facilities which have ceased to comply. To be included in the European List, any ship recycling facility, irrespective of its location, has to comply with a number of safety and environmental requirements.
For facilities located in the EU, it is for the competent national authorities in the concerned Member States to check that all the relevant conditions are met, and to then inform the Commission that the facility in question should be listed. Ship recycling facilities located in third countries and intending to recycle ships flying a flag of a Member State have apply to the Commission for inclusion in the European List.
