SSI Calls for Regulatory Alignment to Accelerate Global Ship Recycling Reform

The Strategic Shipping Initiative (SSI) is calling for urgent regulatory alignment at the global level to address mounting pressure on the ship recycling industry, as more than 16,000 vessels are expected to require dismantling before the end of the decade. 
At the centre of the debate is the lack of coherence between two key international frameworks: the International Maritime Organization’s Hong Kong Convention (HKC), which governs safe and environmentally sound ship recycling, and the Basel Convention, which restricts the export of hazardous waste from developed to developing countries. Since ships contain significant quantities of hazardous materials, they fall under the scope of both regimes, creating long-standing legal and operational tension. 
SSI, a multi-sector initiative established in 2010 to accelerate sustainability across shipping, is now urging the IMO to take the lead as the “universal focal point” for technical alignment on ship recycling standards. The organisation argues that responsibility should not be split between parallel governance tracks, particularly as the IMO is already conducting its MEPC 83 experience-building phase linked to the Hong Kong Convention. 
The call comes just ahead of discussions by the Basel Convention’s Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) in Geneva, which is preparing for COP-18 in 2027 in Panama. SSI is advocating for a joint technical workstream that would integrate IMO and Basel-related processes to ensure consistency in environmental and operational standards for end-of-life vessels. 
At present, more than 90% of global ship recycling takes place in yards located on the Indian subcontinent. However, under Basel Convention rules, the export of hazardous waste from developed to developing nations is prohibited. Given that end-of-life ships contain hazardous materials, this creates a regulatory contradiction that has long shaped industry practice. 
Shipowners often use intermediary structures, such as selling vessels to cash buyers, reflagging in open registries and then finally delivering ships to recycling yards in South Asia. This has become a common workaround in the current regulatory framework. 
“Recent operational evidence from certified recycling facilities in South Asia has already shown that the Hong Kong Convention is working on the ground,” said SSI Chief Executive Ellie Besley-Gould. She argued that continued governance delays have discouraged responsible investment in the sector since 2011. 
She also warned that further postponement of regulatory decisions, particularly at OEWG-15, would delay necessary progress by at least two years, at a time when global demand for recycling capacity is set to increase significantly. 
With the ship recycling sector approaching a major wave of vessel retirements, SSI’s position underscores a growing consensus that regulatory fragmentation is becoming a structural barrier to investment, transparency, and the scaling of safe recycling infrastructure worldwide.