Ship scrapping – the challenges for international environmental regulation

Ships are valuable sources of steel and other natural resources which can potentially be recycled and reused for economic and environmental benefits, and between 700 and 1000 ships are scrapped annually. On the other hand, up to 5% of the mass of a ship is dangerous wastes. Developed states and the European Union have introduced restrictive regulatory measures to regulate the conditions and locations of ship scrapping facilities. Despite the environmental benefits, these regulations may lose their battle for efficiency due to Asian countries which are engaged in a regulatory race to the bottom to attract ship owners to scrap their ships in their territories. The findings of this research indicate that despite being included in international and EU laws on ship scrapping, the specific instruments to prevent the movement of ship scrapping into the jurisdictions with low environmental standards are ineffective. A new global regulatory instrument is required which can find a balance between strict environmental protections and the economic interests of both the ship owner, companies engaged in ship scrapping, and countries which take economic advantage of those processes.