India has become the world’s leading ship recycling nation as its global share rose from 30.1 per cent in 2024 to 35.4 per cent in 2025 after regulatory reform and yard modernisation. Government figures, citing UNCTAD, show India recycled 2.99 million (mn) Gross tonnes (GT) in 2025, up from 1.86 million GT in 2024, a rise of nearly 60 per cent. This meets the Maritime India Vision 2030 target five years early and signals a shift to a regulated industry. The sector now emphasises environmental protection, worker safety and resource efficiency.

Alang-Sosiya in Gujarat remains the industry backbone, accounting for about 98 per cent of national recycling and an annual capacity near 6 million GT. Its yards produce roughly 3.5 million tonne (t) of steel, supplying ferrous scrap that reduces import dependence and lowers emissions. Facilities have been modernised with engineered plots, impermeable surfaces, mechanised handling and segregated hazardous waste storage.

A statutory framework governs the lifecycle of recycling, led by the Ship Recycling Act, 2019 and detailed by the Ship Recycling Rules, 2021 and Ship Recycling Regulations, 2026, setting authorisation, inspection and hazardous material standards. India has aligned law with the Hong Kong Convention, which entered into force on 26 June 2025. The government provided Rs 535 mn to modernise yards and 115 facilities have achieved Convention compliance.

Worker training has been prioritised and the Alang-Sosiya institute has trained 0.15 mn workers in occupational safety, hazardous material handling and emergency response to improve practices across yards. Incentives link recycling with shipbuilding via a ship-breaking credit under SBFA 2.0 that offers a credit equal to 40 per cent of a recycled ship’s scrap value usable towards up to five per cent of a new vessel’s cost. This promotes sustainable recycling and domestic ship construction.

The sector’s transformation has strengthened employment and steel production while advancing a circular economy and resource security. Continued yard modernisation, stronger oversight and incentives are expected to enhance India’s competitiveness in eco-conscious markets and position ship recycling as a component of the maritime ecosystem.