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NGO Shipbreaking Platform

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is a global coalition of human rights and environmental organisations working to ensure safe and environmentally sound ship dismantling world wide.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Ana Vasconcelos (Member of the European Parliament)

29 Jan 2026 · Decarbonisation of the shipping industry

Meeting with Francois Wakenhut (Head of Unit Environment)

27 Jan 2026 · Exchange of views on ship recycling

Meeting with Majdouline Sbai (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Dec 2025 · Steel scrap

Meeting with Christophe Clergeau (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Dec 2025 · SEArica

Response to Ship recycling – format of the ready for recycling certificate

17 Nov 2025

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform thanks the European Commission for this opportunity to contribute to the European Union (EU) decision to update the format of the ready for recycling certificate, delivered under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation to ships destined to be recycled. While we welcome this harmonization initiative, which will reduce administrative burden for ship-owners and facilitate verifications, we take the opportunity to express some recommendations on how to ensure that the EU regulations on ship recycling effectively tackles the issue of circumvention of EU waste law by the shipping sector. Please see attachment.
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Response to Ship recycling – format of the certificate on the inventory of hazardous materials

17 Nov 2025

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform thanks the European Commission for this opportunity to contribute to the European Union (EU) decision to update the format of the certificate on the inventory of hazardous materials (IHM) delivered to ships under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, to facilitate its use under the Hong Kong Convention. While we welcome this harmonization initiative, we take the opportunity to express some recommendations on how to ensure that the EU regulations on ship recycling effectively tackles the issue of ship borne hazardous materials treatment and enhances product information transparency, contributing to the objective of the Industrial Accelerators Act and Circular Economy Act. Please see attached document.
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Response to Circular Economy Act

6 Nov 2025

With a significant number of ships expected to reach the end of their service life in the coming years, ship recycling presents a strategic opportunity for Europe. Boosting ship recycling in the EU will: - secure a steady supply of secondary raw materials for the internal market and strengthen Europes industrial resilience and strategic autonomy by reducing dependence on virgin raw materials; - make a meaningful contribution to the decarbonisation of the EU steel and construction sectors, supporting Europes broader climate and circular economy goals; - create green jobs in the recycling and waste management sector; and - provide coherence with EU environmental policies aimed at preventing the export of hazardous materials from the EU and restrict exports of waste that have harmful environmental and health impacts in third countries. Please see attached our paper for more details on how boosting ship recycling in the EU will enhance circularity and decarconisation across key industrial sectors.
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Response to EU Civil Society Strategy

5 Sept 2025

Civil society actors are indispensable partners in ensuring accountability, amplifying diverse voices, and upholding EU values both within the Union and globally. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, with members active across the Global North and South, plays an important role in defending fundamental rights, as well as social and environmental justice, often countering business interests not used to being held accountable. Yet, in recent years, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) ability to act has been increasingly undermined by the introduction of restrictive policies and a shrinking democratic space. Civil society today faces unprecedented challenges, including targeted attacks, abusive lawsuits and financial precarity. These trends threaten not only the resilience of CSOs but also the resilience of democracy and fundamental rights. The EUs Civil Society Strategy must unequivocally recognise the important role CSOs play to ensure not only a thriving, but also a legitimate democracy. Across Europe and beyond, an alarmingly growing number of SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) cases are draining energy and resources that should be devoted to advocacy and community support, and thus undermining the capacity of organisations to fulfill their missions. We thus urge the Commission to ensure the effective monitoring of the implementation and enforcement of Directive (EU) 2024/1069 and establish strong EU-level protections for CSOs under threat, including systematic tracking of SLAPP cases, as well as look at ways to enhance the protection of human rights and environmental defenders also beyond EU borders, especially when they are threatened by actors linked to EU corporate interests. The lack of predictable, long-term and independent public funding further undermines the ability of CSOs to work effectively. While short-term funding cycles leave organisations vulnerable and reactive rather than strategic and resilient, it is key that public funding is enhanced to ensure a truly independent civil society with the ability to effectively contribute to not only policy implementation, but also policy development. The LIFE program, which has long provided vital support, is now under threat. Without stable grants, we cannot participate consistently at the EU level, unlike businesses or governments. These grants are fundamental to independent and citizen-driven, evidence-based policy. The Commission must ensure support for civil society in the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) by confirming and reinforcing a dedicated program to strengthen CSO voices. This program should provide predictable, long-term funding to support staff development and organisational capacity building and sustainability, with particular attention to smaller NGOs and networks. CSOs assessing EU policy impacts in third countries, such as our members in Turkey, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who are directly affected by EU legislation and the impacts of hazardous waste dumping, mismanagement of toxic materials, and the lack of due diligence by European-based companies, which undermines their right to a clean and healthy environment, must furthermore be systematically included in EU policy-making, with structured opportunities to assist co-legislators and share perspectives rooted in the experiences of those most affected. The EU should finally also seek to assist CSOs operating in particularly challenging contexts and countries where the Rule of Law is under threat.
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Response to EU industrial maritime strategy

28 Jul 2025

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of environmental and human-rights organisations, welcomes the European Commissions ambition to develop a new Industrial Maritime Strategy, essential to address competitiveness challenges and ensure a just transition in Europes maritime manufacturing sector and its wider value chain. In this context, ship recycling must be recognised as a strategic maritime industrial activity. Ship recycling can effectively contribute to the EUs goals for industrial resilience, raw material independence, decarbonisation, and the circular economy. Please see further recommendations attached.
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Meeting with Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea (Director Environment)

1 Jul 2025 · Presentation of the work of the CirclesOfLife project (Horizon Europe)

Meeting with Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea (Director Environment) and European Recycling Industries' Confederation

2 Apr 2025 · Exchange of views on ship recycling

Response to Ship recycling – European list of ship recycling facilities (14th edition)

4 Dec 2024

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform wishes to thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide input to the Public Consultation on the EU List of approved ship recycling facilities, and shares in the attached document a recommendation to enhance transparency with regards to facilities located in EU/EFTA states, as well as concerns related to the approval of landing facilities in Aliağa, Turkiye.
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Response to Evaluation of the Ship Recycling Regulation

30 Jun 2022

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform thanks the European Commission for this opportunity to contribute to enhancing European Union (EU) legislation aimed at shifting the recycling of end-of-life vessels towards sustainable practices in line with responsible and ethical circular economy policy priorities. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) plays an important role in that regard and in the attached document we share our observations on the implementation, enforcement and impact of the Regulation so far, as well as some recommendations on how to ensure that it effectively contributes to the general policy objectives of the European Green Deal and the circular economy action plan. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is a global coalition of organisations working to reverse the environmental harm and human rights abuses caused by current shipbreaking practices and to ensure the safe and environmentally sound dismantling of end-of-life ships worldwide. www.shipbreakingplatform.org / www.offthebeach.org / www.shiprecyclinglab.org
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Response to Environmental Crime Directive Evaluation

5 Apr 2019

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform welcomes the Commission’s initiative to review the Environmental Crimes Directive and its focus on illegal waste trade. Illegal waste trade, and the externalisation of environmental and associated social costs, has devastating effects on nature and human health. The evaluation should, however, not overlook other areas covered by the Directive. It should also look into gaps related to EU environmental legislation not currently listed under Annex A, such as the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and EU Timber Regulation, as well as ways to ensure more timely and effective inclusion of relevant EU environmental legislation under the scope of the Directive. In light of the huge economic gains environmental crime brings to the offenders, dissuasive penalties are particularly important to effectively combat illegal activity. The transnational nature of many environmental crimes furthermore justifies the need for a strong legal framework at EU level. Cooperation between Member States is key in combatting cross-border illegal activities and criminal networks. Environmental crimes are often facilitated by the lack of transparency in corporate structures and supply chains. In the case of the illegal trafficking of end-of-life ships, the use of anonymous post-box companies, tax havens and flags of convenience often makes it difficult to identify the offenders, including those that incite, aid and abet the offense. The evaluation on the efficiency of the Directive should thus also focus on the capacity, structures and allocated resources to ensure cross-border investigative collaboration and access to important information such as company details and structures. Environmental crime is furthermore often linked to other forms of criminal conduct, including serious human rights breaches, money-laundering and even terrorism. In that sense, it is important to evaluate the relevance of the Directive within the context of tackling and prosecuting criminal activity generally. The effects of environmental crimes are in many cases felt outside the EU and by marginalised communities. Due attention should thus be given to ensuring the consultation of affected communities and NGOs.
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Response to Inclusion of new yards in the EU list of authorised ship recycling facilities

18 Oct 2018

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is a global coalition of environmental and human rights NGOs working for safe and clean ship recycling. We have actively contributed to the development of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and as such support the standard it sets for ship recycling facilities globally. Only yards that comply fully with the requirements of the Regulation can be added to the EU List of approved ship recycling facilities, and we encourage the European Commission to exercise the review of candidates with utmost diligence. Given that this consultation was launched with no background information explaining the decision to recommend the inclusion of three additional yards operating outside the EU to the List, and given also the fact that upon requesting such background information, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform only received more detailed accounts of the Commission audits two days before the consultation deadline, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform is unable to submit detailed feedback. We therefore instead reserve our right to provide any comments or concerns as we are entitled to under the Regulation's Article 23 on "Request for Action". We strongly insist that for the next consultation regarding new yards to be added to the List, the Commission ensures that the necessary documentation and facility audit reports are made available to all stakeholders as part of the process. This will indeed ensure transparency and allow us, and any other stakeholder, to provide informed comments in due time. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform finally urges the Commission to pro-actively approach the ship recycling issue in light of opportunities it gives for the circular economy. Measures, including financial incentives, that will push the European shipping industry as a whole - and beyond only the few EU flagged vessels - towards clean and safe ship recycling, in line with BAT and respect for workers' rights, are necessary to shift the industry away from current substandard practices which include the low-cost method of beaching.
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