Project Description
A large number of end-of-life ships—mostly from Europe—are still being illegally exported to South Asian beaching yards (e.g. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), where they are dismantled under unsafe and environmentally harmful conditions. In 2017, these accounted for 65% of ships and 80% of gross tonnage dismantled globally.
Despite existing regulations, shipowners often circumvent EU laws through tactics like reflagging, renaming, and changing ownership to avoid proper recycling requirements.
This IMPEL project focuses on:
- Preventing illegal exports of ships from the EU.
- Supporting enforcement efforts where ships have already been beached.
- Clarifying the differences between Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) and Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR).
- Sharing practical tools, legal insights, and guidance to help authorities detect and act against violations.
- Using IMPEL’s intranet for collaboration and best practice exchange.
All project outputs are available under Project Outputs menu on the right side of the page.