Taking Responsibility: A Multi-Stakeholder Evaluation of the Shipbreaking and Ship Recycling Industry in South Asia

Abstract: The global fleet of 48,525 merchant ships is responsible for 90% of world trade, making the shipping industry invaluable in today’s globalised world. On average 1,000 of these ships reach the end-of-life and are recycled annually. Close to 80% of these vessels are disposed of on the coasts of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ship recycling in itself is a sustainable and necessary practice because of the large quantities of steel that can be recovered and the lack of an adequate alternative. However, the ship recycling in South Asia has proven to be incredibly harmful when it comes to environment, health and safety (EHS) standards. Recycling ships in a sustainable way has proven to be a challenge, which regulation has been unable to solve. This thesis explores the role of private sector stakeholders and their involvement in improving the ship recycling industry in the region. This study aims to describe the industry as it is today, and asks how ship-owners, cargo-owners and capital investors are able to use their influence to ensure more stringent EHS standards. Taking an inductive approach, using stakeholder theory and data gathering from stakeholder interviews, each stakeholder’s role in the industry was explored and their potential to influence explained. Finding that cooperation between stakeholders was crucial for improvement in the recycling industry with ship-owners as leaders of change, as well as the need for a global regulatory framework. The capacity capabilities of South Asia are irreplaceable, however the current standards cannot continue to be tolerated. Working on verification of shipyards in the region for more stringent EHS standards must become a priority to the shipping industry, and stakeholders could be the key to ensure this change.