Responsible ship recycling

We continue our commitment and contribution to the broader development of the Alang area through health care initiatives.

In 2023, Maersk was recognised at the Global Maritime India Summit for its Responsible Ship Recycling programme in Alang. We also received a second CSR Health Impact award from the Integrated Health and Wellbeing Council for funding a mobile health unit and awareness training for ship recycling workers.

A significant part of the global shipping fleet becoming ready for recycling in the next decade will be in the “post-Panamax” category: too large to navigate the Panama Canal, and too large to be responsibly recycled in most of the world’s available recycling facilities.

The first of Maersk’s post-panamax vessels will be due for recycling already next year and the pipeline will grow significantly over the next decades. In 2023, Maersk continue sending clear demand signals and enhanced our support for creating new opportunities via dialogue with several ecosystem stakeholders including ship.

Maersk continue engaging with stakeholders for a conducive regulatory environment, in 2023, addressing the key capacity challenge to meet increased demand for ship recycling.

Maersk supports empanelment of eligible yards located outside the EU into approved lists of Ship Recycling Facilities and also recommends a focus on circularity in the revised EU Ship Recycling Regulation - such as the certification of recycled steel as “green steel”.

Maersk supports opportunities for ship recycling to contribute towards global steel decarbonisation efforts.

In 2023, Maersk engaged with several steel value chain players to understand their appetite for securing steel from ship recycling and contributed to a publication by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative on Green Steel and Shipping, available here . Towards this effort, Maersk remains engaged with the SteelZero initiative (read more).