The European Union should review its regulations on ship recycling.
This is stated in an open letter to the European Commission by a broad coalition of Turkish NGOs, lawyers, trade unions, and municipal councils, supported by the Brussels-based NGO Shipbreaking Platform and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), calling for the immediate revocation of all EU authorizations granted to the Aliağa ship recycling facilities, pursuant to Article 23 of the relevant EU Regulation (SRR).
The letter highlights several alleged violations of the SRR, including risks to the environment and public health linked to regulatory exemptions, gaps in law enforcement, illegal dumping of waste, and contamination from heavy metals and other pollutants. The signatories argue that the existing authorizations effectively legitimize practices that would never be allowed in any EU Member State, creating a dangerous double standard that exposes workers and communities to environmental and occupational risks.
Specifically, the letter asks the European Commission to: revoke without delay all EU authorizations for the Aliağa ship recycling facilities; review the approval procedures under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, so that only fully confined industrial platform methods, such as dry docks, can be approved; fully cooperate with authorities and civil society organizations to ensure that the Aliağa infrastructure provides safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.
The signatories also express concern about the Commission’s ongoing assessment of the “beaching” requests from Indian yards. Beaching, the practice of dismantling ships directly on tidal flats, is expressly prohibited in the EU. The NGOs urge the Commission to adopt a consistent and zero-tolerance policy towards any ship recycling method that cannot guarantee the full containment of pollutants and the protection of workers from occupational risks and fatal accidents.
“The EU List should represent a level playing field and must not legitimize bad practices and double standards in the sector. This is something we firmly condemn and, therefore, we act and support local civil society” says Ekin Sakin, Policy Officer at the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
According to Shipbreaking Platform “currently, more than half of the ships flying an EU flag are dismantled in Aliağa, where 11 of the 22 local yards have already obtained EU approval and another five facilities are applying for approval.”
