India eyes 60% share in global ship recycling business

New Delhi: With a new legislation in place, India eyes to garner at least 60 per cent of the global ship recycling business and emerge as a key destination for recycling warships and other ships, according to Union Minister Mansukh Lal Mandaviya.

Holding the independent charge of the Shipping Ministry, he also exuded confidence that contribution from ship recycling activities to the country's GDP would reach $2.2 billion, almost double compared to the current level.

According to Mandaviya, Gujarat's Alang, the world's biggest shipyard, is ready to cater to projected increase in the number of ships for recycling. Currently, India recycles around 300 of the 1,000 ships which are demolished per annum globally.

However, countries like Japan, Europe and the US were not sending their ships for recycling to India in the absence of ratification of a global convention. That scenario is set to change with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.

The Act ratifies the Hong Kong convention and facilitating environment friendly recycling process of ships and adequate safety of the yard workers.

"The US and other countries do not send their ships to India for recycling but now that we have ratified the Hong Kong conventions, we expect the numbers to swell," the Minister said.

"India, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan account for recycling about 90 per cent of the global ships.

India's share at present stands at 30 per cent or 70 lakh gross tonnage of ships per annum which is bound to go to at least 60 per cent given 95 of the 131 plots at Alang (are) developing these as per Hong Kong conventions, paving way for ships from Europe, Japan, US and other countries to be recycled here," he noted.