IRClass is amongst the first organizations in the world to certify ship recycling yards according to EU standards as an ‘Independent Verifier’.

IRClass Systems and Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (ISSPL), an entity promoted by Indian Register of Shipping, has certified four leading ship recycling yards in Alang as an ‘Independent Verifier’ in accordance with the requirements of European Union Ship Recycling Regulation (EUSRR) 1257/2013.

The four yards which have met the standards set by the EU and the Hong Kong Convention are: Priya Blue Industries; Shree Ram Vessel Scrap; R.L. Kalathia Ship Breaking; and Leela Ship Recycling.

These recycling yards are India’s first recycling yards to be certified based on EU standards and have submitted their applications for inclusion in the EU recognized yards list. The deadline for application submission was 30 June 2016 and the yard list is expected to be released by December.

India is home to one of the largest ship breaking facilities in the world with over 150 yards along its coast. On an average, close to 6.2 Million GT is scrapped in India every year, which accounts for 33% of the total scrapped tonnage in

the world. Recently, however, health and environmental concerns have led to adoption of new policy regimes at international level.

The policy on EUSRR mandates vessels under the EU flag to be scrapped in recognized ship breaking yards. In the past four years, approximately 310 EU flagged vessels were scrapped, out of which 107 were scrapped in India, amounting close to 4.3 million tonnes in deadweight. A recognition from EU will allow these Indian yards to become a preferred option over others in the area in coming years.

The ship breaking industry, being a highly price sensitive market, having to adopt health and environmental regulations may imply significant expenses in a competitive environment. It will be vital for Indian yards to select the right partners to work with to achieve compliance as per the Hong Kong Convention as well as EUSRR. While IRClass has emerged as a partner of choice for these yards, there are several other yards who have approached IRClass for the certification.

EU ship recycling regulation has entered into force at the end of 2013, and its requirements are phased-in between 31 December 2015 and 31 December 2020.