EU ship recycling rules: protectionism

Only nine shipyards, out of 26, on the EU list of approved recycling facilities are realistically open for ship recycling, and only three of the 26 could recycle a large ship (Panamax size or larger), a study commissioned by BIMCO shows. “The EU list is hard to take seriously. I called one of these ‘recycling shipyards’ a few months ago, and they hadn’t even started building the yard yet,” said Angus Frew, BIMCO secretary general and CEO. “The list looks a little like protectionism and clearly disadvantages European shipowners.”