India India takes global lead in ship recycling with 35% share

Recycling volume jumped to 2.99 million gross tonnes.

India became the world's leading ship recycling nation in 2025, with its global market share rising to 35.4% from 30.1% in 2024.

The government said in press release that recycling volume jumped to 2.99 million gross tonnes (GT),  a 60% increase from 1.86 GT.

The Alang-Sosiya cluster in Gujarat accounts for 98% of India's ship recycling activity. It has an annual capacity of 6 million GT and produces 3.50 million metric tonnes of steel a year without new resource extraction.

India plans to nearly double that capacity to 9 million light displacement tons (LDT) through a new master plan for the Alang yard.

The report notes that the Hong Kong International Convention became mandatory on 26 June 2025, and India has aligned its laws with it.

Moreover, US$5.6m (₹53.5 crore) in financial assistance has helped 115 facilities achieve compliance. Separately, 35 Alang yards have applied for EU green-listing, with two — Shree Ram Vessel Scrap and Y.S. Investments — included in the draft 16th European List of Ship Recycling Facilities.

Under the Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme, part of the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme 2.0, shipowners who recycle at compliant Indian yards receive a credit note equal to 40% of the scrap value, which is usable toward up to 5% of the cost of a new vessel built at an Indian shipyard.

The recycling of the Ex-INS Viraat at Alang is cited as a flagship case. The aircraft carrier served the Indian Navy for 30 years and the Royal Navy for 27, was decommissioned in March 2017, and arrived at Alang in September 2020.

Further, recycled steel requires substantially less energy than primary production, supporting India's decarbonisation goals while reducing dependence on imported raw materials for the domestic steel industry.

(US$1= ₹95.45)