Indian Yards and the EU SRR List: A Positive Step, With Conditions
Reports that two Indian yards are in the later stages of considered for inclusion on the EU Ship Recycling Regulation list represent a genuine milestone in the ship recycling space, not just for those specific facilities, but for the Alang region as a whole. For years, the gap between EU SRR-listed yards and the broader Indian recycling market has been seen as structural and permanent. If two yards can demonstrate that the standards are achievable in an Indian context, that changes the conversation. It signals to the rest of the region that compliance is possible, and that progress is something the regulatory framework is willing to recognize.
That said, inclusion needs to mean something, and it is worth being clear about what still needs to be addressed. Indian yards, including those being considered, still operate on the beaching method; vessels are grounded on the tidal flat rather than recycled alongside a fixed berth or jetty. This is a fundamental distinction, and one the EU SRR framework was partly designed to move away from. The question is not whether these yards have made real improvements as we can see from the ground they have. Moreso, whether EU SRR status can be maintained at a high enough standard that it does not gradually accommodate the method rather than encouraging yards to move beyond it. The next step for ambitious yards in India is continuing to further infrastructure: alongside access, longer jetties, facilities that reduce the reliance on the beach entirely. That ambition should be part of the conversation around any new inclusions. Equally, downstream hazardous waste handling requires additional improvements. What happens to materials after they leave the cutting floor remains one of the harder things to verify, and it needs to be part of the basis for approval, not an afterthought.
Overall, we see this as a positive development. The direction is right. Our hope is that potential inclusion is treated as a continuing obligation rather than a final landing point, assuming that the yards involved use it as a platform to keep raising their own standards, rather than to stagnate improvements. Calmocean works regularly across Indian yards, and we will be watching how this unfolds closely. If you have vessels heading toward end of life and want an independent view of what the current options in India actually look like on the ground, get in touch.