Ship Recycling Nation in 2025: India has reached a big new milestone in 2025. The country has become the world’s leading ship recycling nation, and it has done so before the target year set in Maritime India Vision 2030. The latest UNCTAD report, as cited by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, says India’s share of global ship recycling rose from 30.1% in 2024 to 35.4% in 2025. In the same period, recycling volume climbed to 2.99 million gross tons (GT) from 1.86 million GT, which is nearly 60% growth.
This means India has moved into the top spot in the world for ship recycling. The government says this meets the Maritime India Vision 2030 goal years early. The achievement also matters because ship recycling is now being done in a more planned and safer way, instead of being seen only as cheap ship breaking work.
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Why did the Sector grow Fast?
A few big policy steps helped this rise. India passed the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, and aligned the sector with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The government also gave ₹53.5 crore in support to modernise yards, and 115 facilities have been brought to HKC-compliant standards. Another big support is the “Ship-breaking Credit Note” idea, where a ship owner gets a note equal to 40% of the scrap value of a recycled ship. That note can be used for up to 5% of the value of a new vessel built at an Indian shipyard.
This credit note system is meant to link recycling with new shipbuilding. In simple words, one old ship can help pay for part of a new ship.
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Future Growth
India is also planning for more growth at the Alang Ship Recycling Yard in Gujarat. The plan is to nearly double ship recycling capacity to about 9 million LDT. The Gujarat government has already prepared a master plan to support this expansion and improve infrastructure. The government is also trying to get Indian yards included in the European Union’s approved list of recycling facilities.
The future market also looks large. BIMCO expects more than 16,000 vessels to be recycled around the world over the next decade. With a 35.4% share, India could handle around 500 to 600 vessels every year if the sector keeps growing as planned. India’s Alang-Sosiya yard is already one of the largest ship recycling hubs in the world, and earlier ministry material says it handles about 30% of global recycling volume.
