Gitnux/Report 2026

Ship Breaking Industry Statistics

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Ship Breaking Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The ship breaking industry at a glance

Ship breaking remains a concentrated, low-volume industry: about 6.3 million gross tons were recycled in 2024, with Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye accounting for 91.7% of global activity.

$7.0B[20]
Market size, 2024
6.3M GT[19]
Ships recycled, 2024
91.7%[19]
Top four countries’ share, 2024
409[17]
Ships dismantled, 2024
Market size
BCC Research valued the global ship recycling market at $7.0 billion in 2024. UN Trade and Development measured physical activity at approximately 6.3 million gross tons recycled in 2024, equivalent to 0.25% of the active global fleet.[20][19]
Forecast & CAGR
BCC Research forecasts the market to rise from $9.1 billion in 2025 to $13.0 billion in 2030, representing a 7.4% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2030.[20]
Market share & regions
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye accounted for 91.7% of global ship recycling by tonnage in 2024. Bangladesh and India together represented more than 77% of the market, while the rest of the world accounted for approximately 8.3%.[19]
Segmentation
By vessel type, bulk carriers represented 32.4% of tonnage sold for scrap in 2024, followed by container ships at 15.2%, offshore supply vessels at 12.8%, oil tankers at 12.1% and liquefied-gas carriers at 11.0%.[19]
Key players & concentration
The market is concentrated geographically rather than around a small group of globally listed companies: four countries handled 91.7% of global recycling tonnage in 2024. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform recorded 255 of 409 dismantled ships entering South Asian yards, indicating that Bangladesh, India and Pakistan remained the dominant destination by vessel count.[19][17]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Ship recycling volumes stayed near historic lows in 2024 because strong freight-market earnings and high second-hand and newbuilding prices encouraged owners to retain vessels. UN Trade and Development expects recycling to recover as fleet modernization accelerates, older tonnage increases and shadow-fleet employment opportunities diminish; it also identifies limited recycling capacity and tighter environmental requirements as constraints.[19]
Consumer behavior & competition
The industry is driven by shipowners’ end-of-life disposal decisions and competition among yards for vessels, with freight earnings and second-hand prices influencing whether ships are recycled or kept in service. In 2024, Bangladesh remained the first-choice destination in the NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s dataset, while 80% of global scrapped tonnage was dismantled under substandard conditions in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.[17][19]
Regulation
The IMO Hong Kong Convention entered into force on 26 June 2025. It establishes mandatory requirements covering ship inventories of hazardous materials, recycling-facility operations, surveys, authorization, certification, inspection and reporting; by the IMO’s 2025 briefing, 24 parties represented 57.15% of world shipping tonnage.[45]
Latest news
The most significant recent regulatory development is the Hong Kong Convention’s entry into force on 26 June 2025. Separately, Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that global ship recycling rose 65% year on year to 7.9 million gross tons in 2025, the highest level since 2021.[45][75]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Ship Breaking Industry

The leading companies in the ship breaking industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Priya Blue Industries leads Gitnux's 2026 ship breaking ranking with an Overall score of 9.7, with three HKC-certified ship recycling facilities in Alang, India. Kabir Steel is the runner-up at 9.1, driven by IMO-listed authorization as a ship recycling facility in Chattogram.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in HKC-compliant ship recycling

    Priya Blue Industries

    IN

    Ranked #1 · 9.7 · HKC-compliant ship recycling

    Why we picked it: It runs HKC-certified recycling capacity in Alang, aligning yard operations with the Hong Kong Convention framework.

    See in ranking ↓Visit priyablue.com ↗

  2. Leader in ship recycling yards

    Shree Ram Group

    IN

    Ranked #3 · 8.8 · Ship recycling yards

    Why we picked it: Scale comes from multiple Alang yards, supporting vessel intake in the South Asian recycling flow.

    See in ranking ↓Visit shreeramgroup.in ↗

  3. Leader in ship dismantling and metal recycling

    Galloo

    BE

    Ranked #4 · 8.8 · Ship dismantling and metal recycling

    Why we picked it: It concentrates dismantling work in Ghent across multiple vessel classes, including warships and cruise ships.

    See in ranking ↓Visit galloo.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the ship breaking industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Priya Blue Industries

HKC-compliant ship recycling · IN

9.7
2

Kabir Steel

HKC-compliant ship recycling · BD

9.1
3

Shree Ram Group

Ship recycling yards · IN

8.8
4

Galloo

Ship dismantling and metal recycling · BE

8.8
5

PHP Family

Green ship recycling yards · BD

8.7
6

Wirana Shipping Corporation

Global ship recycling cash buyer · SG

8.6
7

GMS

Global ship recycling cash buyer and facilitator · AE

8.2
8

Leela Worldwide Group

Ship recycling yards, Alang, India · IN

8.1
9

Salams International

Green ship recycling yard, Gadani, Pakistan · PK

8.0
10

R.L. Kalthia Ship Breaking

HKC-certified ship recycling yard, Alang · IN

8.0

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the ship breaking industry. In Ship Breaking Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ship-breaking-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Number of recycled ships by country

India leads with 114.

India114
Bangladesh87
Türkiye64
China36
Pakistan20
Denmark7
source-verifiedfethiye.denizticaretodasi.org.tr

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and robotics work focuses on planning and hazardous-material detection in ship recycling, including a digital-twin based automated plan and €950,000 for robotics and AI research.

AI in the ship breaking industry

  • Nearly €8 million in EU funding supports the SHEREC research project on AI-enabled ship recycling.[1]
  • 1 automated ship-recycling plan based on a ship digital twin and AI planning methods is being developed by SHEREC.[2]
  • €950,000 of SHEREC funding is allocated to Paderborn University’s research on robotics and AI for ship recycling.[1]
  • 1 AI-powered drone is planned to locate hazardous materials inside ships during the SHEREC recycling process.[2]
  • 4 years is the planned duration of the European AI and robotics project SHEREC, launched in January 2024.[1]

Automation in the ship breaking industry

  • 1 new technology project aims to automate, accelerate and reduce labor needs in the shipbreaking process.[3]
  • 1 automated ship-recycling plan is being developed through a digital twin of the vessel.[4]
  • 2 mobile robotic systems are planned to automate cutting and paint removal in ship recycling under SHEREC.[2]
  • 1 Automated Block Processing system demonstrated the ability to produce high-quality scrap steel in the Marine Metals ship-dismantling project.[5]
  • 1 wire-saw system was successfully tested for industrial-scale ship dismantling in Rotterdam on December 12, 2024.[5]
  • 2 operating modes—autonomous and tele-operated—are specified for SHEREC’s mobile ship-recycling robots.[4]

Digital Transformation in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 51% identified high costs as a challenge to digitalizing logistics operations in 2025.[6]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 63% expected digitalization to enhance customer experience in 2025.[6]
  • Across surveyed freight forwarders and logistics providers, 49% had digitized 50% or fewer of business processes or transactions in November 2024.[7]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 69% expected digitalization to improve efficiency in 2025.[6]
  • Across surveyed freight forwarders and logistics providers, 23% had digitized more than 75% of business processes or transactions in November 2024.[7]

Technology Adoption in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across transportation and logistics organizations, 53% were partially or fully deploying AI to reduce workloads in 2024.[8]
  • Among 2026 transportation-management survey respondents, 15% of logistics service providers reported using AI at scale.[8]
  • Across transportation and logistics organizations, 53% were partially or fully deploying automated real-time shipment tracking to address knowledge-worker shortages in 2024.[8]
  • Across transportation and logistics executives surveyed in Europe and North America, 44% were using AI for transportation planning and optimization in 2025.[9]
  • Among 2026 transportation-management survey respondents, 19% of shippers reported using AI at scale.[8]

Cloud Computing in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 84% had increased AI and machine-learning investment during the preceding one to two years.[10]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 89% planned to increase AI and machine-learning investment during the following one to two years.[10]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 85% said leadership viewed cloud as a long-term investment in 2023.[10]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 75% said cloud was crucial to their organization’s future in 2023.[10]

Big Data in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 49% expected digitalization to improve data visibility in 2025.[6]
  • 38% of surveyed GCC logistics organizations used structured data, while 20% recognized a systematic link between data and business insights, according to a 2023 study.[11]
  • 12.5% of transportation and storage enterprises used both cloud computing and big-data analytics, according to the OECD’s 2026 sectoral comparison of enterprise technology adoption.[12]
  • 9.5% of transportation and storage enterprises used big-data analytics alone in the OECD’s 2026 cross-sector comparison, based on the latest available enterprise data.[12]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 34% identified data analytics, including cloud platforms and AI-powered solutions, as the most critical technology in 2025.[6]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data and reporting show strong regional processing concentration and ongoing measurement by vessel and flag, including 33 vessels by Comoros flag representing 1,106,032 gross tonnes in 2022.

Business intelligence in the ship breaking industry

  • 29.3% of recycled gross tonnage was processed in India in 2022.[13]
  • 295 oil tankers accounted for 8,657,234 gross tonnes recycled during 2021–2022.[13]
  • 128 bulk carriers accounted for 5,734,262 gross tonnes recycled during 2021–2022.[13]
  • 16.1% of recycled gross tonnage was processed in Pakistan in 2022.[13]
  • 10.0% of recycled gross tonnage was processed in Türkiye in 2022.[13]
  • 451 ships were recycled worldwide in 2022, totaling 8,067,298 gross tonnes and 3,225,854 light displacement tonnes.[13]

Data analytics in the ship breaking industry

  • 33 vessels registered under the Comoros flag represented 1,106,032 gross tonnes recycled in 2022.[13]
  • 47 vessels registered under the Panama flag represented 949,802 gross tonnes recycled in 2022.[13]
  • 66 vessels registered under the St Kitts and Nevis flag represented 1,567,374 gross tonnes recycled in 2022.[13]
  • 12.22% of vessels with an identified owner were owned by EU entities in 2022.[13]
  • 12 vessels registered under the Sierra Leone flag represented 79,702 gross tonnes recycled in 2022.[13]
  • 42 EU-flagged vessels were sent for dismantling in 2022, representing 8.52% of worldwide recycling volume by vessel count.[13]

Data Quality in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply management organizations, 67% said their data quality was better or significantly better than two years earlier in 2024.[14]
  • Across supply management organizations, 49% rated their data quality as good or excellent in 2024.[14]
  • Across transportation and logistics shippers, 33% identified data quality as a top barrier to scaling artificial intelligence in 2026.[8]
  • Across supply management organizations, 33% rated their data-security ability as very high for assuring data quality in 2024.[14]

Data Governance in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply management organizations, 61% had a dedicated data-governance function in 2024.[14]
  • Across supply management organizations with a data-governance program, 81% found the program useful in 2024.[14]
  • Across supply management organizations with a data-governance function, 47% housed it in a center of excellence in 2024.[14]
  • 33% of 3PL respondents said their supply chain governance maturity was running ahead, meaning proactive and predictable, in the 2024 global survey.[15]
  • 42.8% of airlines surveyed worldwide considered themselves to be in the early stages of data-strategy implementation in the IATA 2024 survey.[16]
  • 49% of shipper respondents said their supply chain governance maturity was running in place, with no noticeable progress, in the 2024 global survey.[15]

KPIs in the ship breaking industry

  • 22 ships were dismantled in Bangladesh during the second quarter of 2025.[17]
  • 74 ships were dismantled worldwide in the second quarter of 2025.[17]
  • 9 workers died in South Asian shipbreaking yards during 2024.[17]
  • 21 ships were dismantled in India during the second quarter of 2025.[17]
  • 23% of reported SRTI signatory recycling activity took place in Türkiye during 2019–2024.[18]
  • 23% of reported SRTI signatory recycling activity took place in Türkiye in 2024.[18]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Capacity and country shares dominate the outlook, with Bangladesh at 43.2% and India at 33.9% of global ship-recycling tonnage in 2024.

Growth in the ship breaking industry

  • Pakistan accounted for 7.4% of global ship-recycling tonnage in 2024.[19]
  • 6.34 million gross tons of ships were recycled globally in 2024, equivalent to 0.25% of the active fleet worldwide.[19]
  • The global ship-recycling market is projected to reach $13.0 billion by 2030.[20]
  • Bangladesh accounted for 43.2% of global ship-recycling tonnage in 2024.[19]
  • India accounted for 33.9% of global ship-recycling tonnage in 2024.[19]
  • The global ship-recycling market was valued at $7.0 billion in 2024.[20]

Differentiation in the ship breaking industry

  • 3 acres is the impermeable-floor area reported by KR Ship Recycling Yard in Bangladesh.[21]
  • 100,000 light-displacement tons is the annual capacity reported for Kabir Ship Recycling in Bangladesh.[22]
  • 9 Bangladesh facilities listed by IMO had annual capacities of 60,000 to 160,000 light-displacement tons under Hong Kong Convention certification in December 2025.[22]
  • 250 insured workers are employed by KR Ship Recycling Yard in Bangladesh.[21]
  • 150 meters is the maximum vessel length listed for Jatob Frederikshavn in Denmark.[23]
  • 150,000 light-displacement tons is the annual capacity reported for Arab Ship Breaking and Recycling in Bangladesh.[22]

Mergers and acquisitions in the ship breaking industry

  • 70 acres is the size of the Brownsville, Texas ship-recycling and scrap-processing complex purchased by the SteelCoast joint venture in 2017.[24]
  • 2 companies—Hilco Redevelopment Partners and MCM Marine Services—formed the SteelCoast joint venture that acquired the former ESCO Marine complex in Texas.[24]
  • 3 Norwegian banks, creditors and bankruptcy authorities were involved in Green Yard Group’s agreement to acquire Kleven Verft in 2020.[25]

Strategic partnerships in the ship breaking industry

  • 1 vessel, Samskip Frost, was selected for Green Yard’s ship-recycling process under the Samskip–Sea2Cradle collaboration in 2020.[26]
  • 2 companies—ASRY and Priya Blue Group—launched a ship and offshore recycling joint venture in Bahrain in 2026.[27]
  • 3 Egyptian entities—Maersk, the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and Industrial Development Group—were involved in the planned shipbreaking and refitting company in Egypt.[28]
  • 3 parties—Sojitz, Circular Maritime Technologies International and Jansen Recycling Group—formed a strategic partnership to develop automated shipbreaking technology in 2024.[3]
  • 2 companies—Elegant Exit Company and ISSAC E&C—signed an MoU to develop green ship-recycling capacity in South Korea and the Far East in 2025.[29]
  • 3 parties—Samskip, Sea2Cradle and Green Yard—worked together on the environmentally controlled recycling of the Samskip Frost in Norway in 2020.[26]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce scale and training requirements stand out, including 225,000 workers employed in shipbreaking across India, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan.

Hiring in the ship breaking industry

  • 225,000 workers were employed by shipbreaking yards in India, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan, according to a compiled industry estimate.[30]
  • 18,000 shipbreaking workers were members of the Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling and General Workers Association in India, nearly all of them migrants.[31]
  • 60,000 workers could be employed at Alang’s 169 plots when the Indian shipbreaking yards were fully occupied.[31]
  • 25,000–40,000 full-time workers were estimated to be active in Bangladesh’s ship-recycling zone at any one time before the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]
  • 40,000 workers were directly employed in shipbreaking yards along Bangladesh’s Chattogram coast, with about 200,000 more employed in related businesses, according to an ILO-referenced 2022 estimate.[32]

Employee retention in the ship breaking industry

  • 84.5% of workers in Bangladesh’s ship-recycling industry were identified as migrants in a study of the sector’s workforce.[33]
  • 18,000 Alang shipbreaking workers were represented by the sector’s workers association, providing an indicator of workforce continuity and organized worker participation.[31]
  • 15,000 workers were estimated to remain active in Bangladesh’s ship-recycling zone during the second quarter of 2020 after the pandemic-related revision.[22]
  • 54 workers were reported to have died in work-related accidents at Alang shipbreaking yards between January 2009 and October 2012.[30]
  • 27.8% of 500 surveyed shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh were younger than 18 years old.[34]

Remote Work in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • In the U.S. transportation and warehousing industry, 13.9% of wage and salary employees worked from home in January 2025.[35]
  • Among U.S. transportation, logistics, supply-chain and storage hires, 17.0% of hires at small companies were remote during the year ending September 2024.[36]
  • Across U.S. transportation and utilities, 20.3% of workers could work from home in 2024–2025, while 18.6% actually did so, according to annual averages.[37]
  • Across U.S. transportation and utilities occupations, about 11% of workers worked remotely at least sometimes from October 2023 through September 2024.[38]

Hybrid Work in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among transportation employers surveyed for the U.S. Job Outlook, 33.3% reported fully hybrid work arrangements in 2024.[39]
  • Among U.S. remote-capable employees, 54% worked hybrid schedules in August 2026.[40]
  • Globally, 25% of engaged employees were working in hybrid arrangements in 2025, compared with 30% of exclusively remote employees and 17% of on-site, non-remote-capable employees.[40]
  • Across transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 42% reported a hybrid work arrangement in 2025.[41]

Upskilling in the ship breaking industry

  • 75% of surveyed shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh had received formal safety training in a recent study.[42]
  • 100% of ship-recycling-facility workers, including contractors, are required by IMO guidance to receive training appropriate to their operations before performing ship-recycling work.[23]
  • 2 training components were recommended in Bangladesh’s SENSREC curriculum: theoretical facility-based training and practical vocational on-the-job training.[22]
  • 25% of surveyed shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh had acquired substantial safety knowledge through on-the-job experience rather than formal training.[42]
  • 70% of surveyed shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh were regularly equipped with personal protective equipment, an indicator of safety-capability support.[42]

Employee Engagement in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Globally, 20% of employees were engaged at work in 2025, while 16% were actively disengaged.[40]
  • In U.S. logistics, 40% of frontline workers wanted to quit in 2024, according to a survey of 500 logistics employees.[43]
  • Across Asia-Pacific transport and logistics organizations, 62% of employees were actively engaged, based on feedback from 30,116 employees in 24 surveys.[44]
  • In U.S. logistics, 71% of frontline workers reported workplace stress in 2024.[43]
  • In U.S. logistics, more than 60% of frontline workers considered their roles long-term career commitments in 2024.[43]

DEI in the ship breaking industry

  • 1 women-focused careers fair brought together Bangladeshi ship-recycling companies, women seafarers, maritime professionals, graduates and students to support female access to the sector.[45]
  • 13% of Bangladesh’s shipbreaking workforce were children in a 2019 survey, highlighting the sector’s inclusion and labor-rights challenge.[46]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Disposal decisions and yard competition drive throughput, with 409 ships dismantled globally in 2024 and 80% of scrapped tonnage in South Asia under substandard conditions.

Customer acquisition in the ship breaking industry

  • 8.52 million gross tons of ships over 100 gross tons were sold for recycling globally in 2025.[47]
  • 12.8% of ship-recycling tonnage consisted of offshore supply vessels in 2024, totaling 812,500 gross tons.[19]
  • 11.0% of ship-recycling tonnage consisted of liquefied-gas carriers in 2024, totaling 695,300 gross tons.[19]
  • 32.4% of ship-recycling tonnage consisted of bulk carriers in 2024, totaling 2.055 million gross tons.[19]
  • 91.7% of global ship recycling tonnage was sold to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan or Türkiye in 2024.[19]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Transparency signals come through policy disclosure and audits, with 27 signatories disclosing ship-recycling policies covering 3,576 vessels in 2024.

Marketing in the ship breaking industry

  • 10 shipowners reported written policies for selecting ship buyers or recycling facilities in the SRTI’s 2021 dataset.[48]
  • 9 shipowners made their ship-recycling policy documents public in the SRTI’s 2021 dataset.[48]
  • 27 signatories disclosed ship-recycling policies and practices through the SRTI in 2024, covering 3,576 vessels worldwide.[49]
  • More than 160 commercial and public-sector vessels were operated globally by Crowley when it joined the SRTI in 2020.[50]
  • 12 major shipowners disclosed ship-recycling policies and practices through the SRTI in 2022, representing 3,665 vessels.[48]

Branding in the ship breaking industry

  • 8% of reported recycling locations were in Bangladesh for the reporting year covered by the SRTI 2023 progress report.[48]
  • 14% of reported recycling locations were in the European Union four years before the reporting year covered by the SRTI 2023 progress report.[48]
  • 85% of SRTI signatories included ship recycling in their ESG reports in 2024, with 50% reporting independent verification.[49]
  • 93% of SRTI signatories audited ship-recycling facilities before use in 2024, supporting responsible-recycling positioning.[49]
  • 10 of 12 SRTI-reporting shipowners covered subcontractors in their ship-recycling policies in 2021.[48]

Influencer Marketing in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • 49% of B2B marketers selected industry relevance as a criterion for choosing influencers in 2025, globally.[51]
  • 55% of B2B companies used influencers in 2025, according to a global survey of marketing decision-makers.[51]
  • 29% of B2B companies planned to adopt influencer marketing within the following year in 2025, globally.[51]
  • 43% of worldwide B2B marketers who achieved positive results said micro-influencers generated the most success in 2024.[52]
  • 53% of U.S. B2B marketers reported a growing dedicated influencer-marketing budget in 2024 survey data.[52]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Execution remains tied to South Asian yard clusters, with 98% of India’s ship-recycling activity concentrated at Alang-Sosiya in 2026.

Process optimization in the ship breaking industry

  • 98% of India’s ship-recycling activity was concentrated at Alang-Sosiya in 2026.[53]
  • 35.4% of global ship-recycling volume was attributed to India in 2025.[53]
  • 9 million LDT is India’s planned future ship-recycling capacity after the proposed Alang expansion.[53]
  • 6 million GT was the approximate annual recycling capacity reported for Alang-Sosiya in 2026.[53]
  • 98% of India’s ship recycling was handled by Alang-Sosiya in 2025, according to the Indian government.[53]

Operational efficiency in the ship breaking industry

  • 2.0547 million gross tons of bulk carriers were recycled globally in 2024.[19]
  • 7.2% of global recycled gross tonnage in 2024 was processed in Türkiye.[19]
  • 695,300 gross tons of liquefied-gas carriers were recycled globally in 2024.[19]
  • 7.4% of global recycled gross tonnage in 2024 was processed in Pakistan.[19]
  • 812,500 gross tons of offshore supply vessels were recycled globally in 2024.[19]

Quality management in the ship breaking industry

  • 5 additional Danaos vessels acquired in 2024 received newly prepared Inventory of Hazardous Materials manuals.[54]
  • 35 beds were available at Alang’s Level III trauma centre after its 2025 upgrade.[53]
  • 71 container ships were included in Danaos Corporation’s 2024 fleet covered by its hazardous-material certification programme.[54]
  • 10 bulk carriers were included in Danaos Corporation’s 2024 fleet covered by its hazardous-material certification programme.[54]
  • Since 2017, Danaos had trained its quality-control engineers as hazardous-material experts for ship recycling compliance.[54]

Supply chain in the ship breaking industry

  • 21.3 million metric tonnes was the world total of ship-recycling steel reported for 2017.[48]
  • 18.3 million metric tonnes was the world total of ship-recycling steel reported for 2018.[48]
  • 1.1 million metric tonnes of ship-recycling steel came from Türkiye in 2021.[48]
  • 11.9 million metric tonnes was the world total of ship-recycling steel reported for 2019.[48]
  • 14.6 million metric tonnes was the world total of ship-recycling steel reported for 2020.[48]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 25% had fully outsourced warehouse operations in 2026.[55]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 57% planned outsourcing projects in warehousing in 2026.[55]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 65% expected outsourcing to continue increasing in 2026.[55]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, about 60% had fully outsourced transportation services in 2026.[55]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Prices stay linked to steel and regional cost structures, with the typical range in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan at USD 200–700 per LDT from January 2012 to August 2026.

Pricing strategy in the ship breaking industry

  • USD 200–700 per LDT was the typical ship-recycling price range in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan from January 2012 to August 2026.[47]
  • USD 400–450 per LDT was the approximate ship-recycling price in Bangladesh by August 2025.[47]
  • USD 465 per LDT was the Week 24 2025 historical average price at Chattogram, Bangladesh.[56]
  • EUR 280–340 per LDT was offered by ship-recycling facilities in Türkiye for bulk carriers and tankers in 2023.[13]
  • USD 620 per LDT was the Week 24 2022 historical average price at Chattogram, Bangladesh.[56]

Cost reduction in the ship breaking industry

  • 30% of total recycling costs was the approximate share attributed to direct labour in the United States and Europe.[13]
  • 3,412 injuries were documented in Southeast Asian shipbreaking yards since 2009, indicating a substantial external cost not reflected in ship prices.[13]
  • EUR 200–350 per LDT was the additional cost associated with using a European-List ship-recycling facility instead of a non-compliant South Asian facility.[57]
  • 30% of total recycling costs was the approximate share attributed to environmental and worker-safety compliance in the United States and Europe.[13]
  • 78 deaths were documented in Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry from 2018 to 2022.[13]

Profitability in the ship breaking industry

  • INR 33.81 crore was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s provisional total operating income in fiscal year 2024.[58]
  • 4,839.30 tonnes was the combined tonnage of two vessels being broken by Unique Ship Breaking Corporation as of August 31, 2024.[58]
  • 1.17% was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s PBILDT margin in fiscal year 2023.[58]
  • INR 14.25 lakh was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s profit from selling an office in fiscal year 2024.[58]
  • INR 14.56 crore was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s net worth at March 31, 2024.[58]

Financial planning in the ship breaking industry

  • INR 40 crore was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s long-term and short-term bank-facility amount rated in October 2024.[58]
  • 1.5 times was the sustained letter-of-credit coverage level identified as a positive rating trigger for Unique Ship Breaking Corporation.[58]
  • INR 150 crore was the total-operating-income level associated with a positive rating trigger for Unique Ship Breaking Corporation.[58]
  • 1.0 times was the letter-of-credit coverage level below which CARE Ratings identified a negative rating trigger for Unique Ship Breaking Corporation.[58]
  • INR 5 crore was Unique Ship Breaking Corporation’s short-term bank-facility amount rated in October 2024.[58]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Regulatory-ready capacity is visible through European List inclusion counts, with 41 facilities on the European List in February 2026.

Product development in the ship breaking industry

  • 35 European, 9 Turkish and 1 U.S. facility were included on the European List of ship-recycling facilities in 2023.[59]
  • 3 facilities in Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway were removed from the European List in the 2023 update because they were no longer in the ship-recycling business.[59]
  • 16,000 ships are expected to be recycled globally over the decade covered by the European Commission’s Blue Economy Observatory outlook.[60]
  • 90 ships received ready-for-recycling certificates from EU Member States and Norway between 2019 and 2021.[60]
  • 2 Turkish yards and 1 U.S. yard received renewed inclusion on the European List in the 2023 update.[59]

Product lifecycle in the ship breaking industry

  • 31 years was the estimated average demolition age for offshore and drilling vessels in the EU/EFTA fleet.[61]
  • 26 years was the estimated average demolition age for bulk carriers in the EU/EFTA fleet.[61]
  • 38 years was the estimated average demolition age for fishing vessels in the EU/EFTA fleet.[61]
  • 28 years was the average recycling age for containerships in 2026.[47]
  • 24 years was the estimated average demolition age for container ships in the EU/EFTA fleet.[61]

After-sales in the ship breaking industry

  • 9 workers died in South Asian shipbreaking yards during 2024 dismantling operations.[17]
  • 255 ships dismantled globally in 2024 ended up in South Asian yards.[17]
  • 25 ships were dismantled in Türkiye during the third quarter of 2024.[17]
  • 24 ships were dismantled in Bangladesh during the third quarter of 2024.[17]
  • 96 ships were dismantled worldwide in the third quarter of 2024.[17]

Value proposition in the ship breaking industry

  • 61–76% of a bulk carrier’s light-displacement tonnage is typically recovered as re-rollable ferrous steel.[13]
  • 1–6% of a bulk carrier’s light-displacement tonnage is typically represented by recovered machinery.[13]
  • 0.5–2% of an oil tanker’s light-displacement tonnage is typically represented by recovered machinery.[13]
  • 8–10% of a bulk carrier’s light-displacement tonnage is typically recovered as meltable ferrous steel.[13]
  • 10% of a general-cargo ship’s light-displacement tonnage is typically recovered as meltable ferrous steel.[13]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Environmental and labor risk remains measurable, with 80% of global scrapped tonnage dismantled under substandard conditions on South Asian beaches in 2024.

Sustainability in the ship breaking industry

  • 409 ships were dismantled globally in 2024, including 255 in South Asian yards.[17]
  • 446 ocean-going commercial ships and offshore units were scrapped globally in 2023.[17]
  • 80% of global scrapped tonnage was dismantled under substandard conditions on South Asian beaches in 2024.[17]
  • 41 facilities were on the European List of approved ship recycling facilities in February 2026.[59]
  • 43 facilities were on the European List in February 2025, including 31 in Europe, 11 in Türkiye and 1 in the United States.[59]

ESG in the ship breaking industry

  • 9 workers died and 45 workers were injured while dismantling ships in South Asia in 2024.[17]
  • 8 workers were injured in an oil-tank explosion during dismantling of the BANGLAR JYOTI in Bangladesh in 2025.[17]
  • 6 workers were killed and 6 others critically injured in an oil-tanker explosion at a Chattogram yard in 2024.[17]
  • 2 fatalities per 1,000 workers were reported for Alang shipbreaking, compared with 0.34 per 1,000 in Indian mining during the cited period.[62]
  • 11 workers died and at least 62 workers were injured in South Asian ship recycling in 2025.[17]

Ethics in the ship breaking industry

  • 30,000 workers were directly employed and about 100,000 indirectly employed by Bangladesh’s shipbreaking sector in the cited study.[17]
  • 60 active yards operated among 155 registered Bangladeshi shipbreaking yards in the cited study.[17]
  • 100–120 large ocean-going vessels were recycled annually in Bangladesh in the cited study.[17]

CSR in the ship breaking industry

  • More than 50 Chinese vessels were sold to South Asian shipbreakers in 2024, mainly in Bangladesh.[17]
  • 99 ships were sold for scrapping in South Asia by Chinese owners during 2022 and 2023.[17]
  • 93 ships were dismantled in Aliaga, Türkiye, during 2022 and 2023, where nine EU-approved yards are located.[17]
  • MSC was responsible for exporting more than 100 end-of-life ships to South Asia since 2009, according to the 2024 annual assessment.[17]
  • 71 vessels owned by Chinese companies were sold for scrapping in South Asia in 2023, including 59 beached in Bangladesh.[17]

Circular economy in the ship breaking industry

  • Bangladesh recycled more than 45% of the world’s ships by gross tonnage in 2023.[63]
  • 91.7% of global ship recycling tonnage was handled by Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye in 2024.[19]
  • 18,791,032 gross tons was the average annual ship recycling volume from 2014 to 2022 in a circular-economy database study.[42]
  • 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided annually by Bangladesh’s use of recycled ship steel, according to a 2023 estimate.[63]
  • Container ships represented 15.2% of global ship recycling tonnage in 2024.[19]

Carbon footprint in the ship breaking industry

  • 740 kilograms of coal consumption were avoided per metric tonne of ship scrap used for steel production, according to the cited analysis.[63]
  • 120 kilograms of limestone consumption were avoided per metric tonne of ship scrap used for steel production, according to the cited analysis.[63]
  • 18,791,032 gross tons was the average annual global ship recycling volume from 2014 to 2022 in a circular-practices study used to assess recycling-related environmental impacts.[42]
  • 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided annually through Bangladesh’s use of recycled ship steel, according to a 2023 estimate.[63]
  • 1.4 tonnes of iron ore consumption were avoided per metric tonne of ship scrap used for steel production, according to the cited analysis.[63]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Global flows remain concentrated despite some diversification, with 95.59% of global merchant-ship recycling concentrated in India, Bangladesh, Türkiye, China and Pakistan in 2025.

Globalization in the ship breaking industry

  • 10.14% of global merchant-ship recycling was handled by China in 2025.[74]
  • 77% of global ship recycling was accounted for by Bangladesh and India in 2024.[19]
  • 95.59% of global merchant-ship recycling was concentrated in India, Bangladesh, Türkiye, China and Pakistan in 2025.[74]
  • 0.25% of the active global fleet was recycled in 2024.[19]
  • 35.36% of global merchant-ship recycling was handled by India in 2025.[74]

Stakeholder management in the ship breaking industry

  • 6 workers were killed in an oil-tanker explosion at an SN Corporation yard in Bangladesh in 2024.[17]
  • At least 62 workers were injured in South Asian ship-recycling operations in 2025.[17]
  • 80% of global ship-recycling tonnage was dismantled under substandard conditions on South Asian beaches in 2024.[17]
  • 11 workers lost their lives in South Asian ship-recycling operations in 2025.[17]
  • 45 workers were injured in South Asian ship-recycling operations in 2024.[17]

Distribution channels in the ship breaking industry

  • 11% of ships sold for scrap globally were liquefied-gas carriers in 2024.[19]
  • 12.1% of ships sold for scrap globally were oil tankers in 2024.[19]
  • 7% of end-of-life vessels recycled were EU-member-state-flagged at recycling in 2022.[60]
  • 13.2% of the global fleet was represented by EU-member-state-flagged vessels in 2022.[60]
  • 8.9% of ships sold for scrap globally were general-cargo ships in 2024.[19]

Key questions about the ship breaking industry

What is the global ship-recycling market size and current activity level?
The global ship recycling market was valued at $7.0 billion in 2024, with 6.3M GT recycled that year.
How fast is the market expected to grow into 2030?
BCC Research forecasts the market will rise from $9.1 billion in 2025 to $13.0 billion in 2030, a 7.4% CAGR from 2025 to 2030.
Which companies lead the ship breaking industry?
Priya Blue Industries leads Gitnux's 2026 ship breaking ranking with an Overall score of 9.7, with three HKC-certified ship recycling facilities in Alang, India. Kabir Steel is the runner-up at 9.1, driven by IMO-listed authorization as a ship recycling facility in Chattogram.
What technology shifts are being tested for safer, more predictable recycling operations?
SHEREC’s 4-year AI and robotics program supports a digital-twin plan for automated ship recycling, with an AI-powered drone planned to locate hazardous materials.
How concentrated is ship breaking by geography and vessel destination?
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye accounted for 91.7% of global ship recycling tonnage in 2024, while the rest of the world accounted for about 8.3%.
Why do recycling volumes stay low in periods of strong freight-market earnings?
Recycling stayed near historic lows in 2024 because strong freight-market earnings and high second-hand and newbuilding prices encouraged owners to retain vessels.
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Ship Breaking Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ship-breaking-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Ship Breaking Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/ship-breaking-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Ship Breaking Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ship-breaking-industry-statistics.

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