The European Commission has adopted new standard formats for certificates that list hazardous materials on board ships and confirm when vessels are ready for recycling.
The updated documents are intended to let ship owners meet obligations under both the EU’s Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling with a single certificate, the European Commission said in a release on Monday.
It added that this would reduce administrative work without lowering EU requirements.
Ship owners must keep an “inventory of hazardous materials” — a record of substances such as asbestos on a vessel — and ships must have certification when they are sent for recycling.
European ship owners have around 30% of the world’s fleet by tonnage, but many vessels are dismantled outside the EU, mainly in South Asia, under conditions that are often harmful to workers’ health and the environment.
Rules for recycling ships in the EU and globally
The EU’s Ship Recycling Regulation, adopted in 2013, sets requirements for ships and recycling facilities, includes limits and prohibitions on installing or using certain hazardous materials on ships, and maintains a European List of ship recycling facilities judged compliant in the EU and elsewhere, the Commission said.
The Hong Kong Convention entered into force in June 2025 and sets international standards for safer and more environmentally sound ship recycling, although its standards are less strict than EU rules in some areas.
The Commission said it will contribute to the International Maritime Organisation’s “experience-building phase”, which includes assessing how the convention is being implemented and work to improve it towards stricter global standards.
