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From Compliance to Capability: New SSI Study Sets the Next Benchmark for Ship Recycling
Safety capability in ship recycling builds on the foundationestablished by the Hong Kong Convention, with workforce continuity, supervisionsystems and infrastructure investment now defining the next stage of industryprogress, a new Sustainable Shipping Initiative field study has found.
The report, Alang in Transition: From Compliance toCapability, was supported by the Lloyd's Register Foundation. It is basedon extensive fieldwork at Priya Blue Industries in Alang, Gujarat, and is oneof the first detailed field studies of yard capability published since the HongKong Convention entered into force on 26 June 2025.
The Convention has established a binding global framework forship recycling safety and hazardous material management, and the studydocuments the substantial progress that has followed its implementation.
Of 128 operational plots at Alang, 115 are now certified ascompliant with the Convention. The study finds that supervisory systems,workforce continuity and infrastructure investment have become increasinglyimportant to operational safety capability as the cluster matures. The reportargues that the next stage of industry progress will be defined by howfacilities build on the regulatory foundation through investment in people,systems and infrastructure.
Workforce knowledge is identified as the most significantsafety asset at advanced facilities. The report points to the Mukadamsupervisory system at Priya Blue as functional safety infrastructure.Experienced supervisors progress from helper to cutter to lead over decades,accumulating operational knowledge that no procedure can fully document. Theinstitutional preservation of this knowledge, the study notes, has become areal point of differentiation between facilities.
On physical infrastructure, the report documents the standardnow set by leading Alang facilities. Impermeable cutting floors, segregatedwork zones, effluent containment, fire suppression systems and specialisedlifting gear are in routine use. These investments support safety outcomes andthe 98 per cent material recovery rate that defines Alang's place in theglobal circular economy.
Worker welfare is treated as part of operational safetyrather than a separate concern. The report cites Priya Blue's investment inILO-compliant dormitories, on-site medical facilities and welfare programmes asproactive management of a safety condition present in every operational shift.
Looking ahead, the report sets out several priorities for theindustry. These include integrating dismantling considerations into shipdesign, developing vessel end-of-life passports that travel with a ship throughits operational life, digitising yard processes through digital twin modelling,and documenting operational knowledge from advanced facilities to accelerateprogress across the sector.
The findings have direct commercial relevance. Global vesselretirements will rise through the second half of the decade. Shipowners, cashbuyers and underwriters will increasingly look at how facilities build on theHKC foundation through operational reliability, recovered equipment value,documentation quality and audit-defensible safety records. These factors willshape commercial decisions across the maritime value chain.
The report was authored by Maria Marilyn Joseph and isavailable on the Sustainable Shipping Initiative website.
About Priya Blue Industries
Priya Blue Industries operates India’s largest HKC-compliantship recycling facility at Alang, Gujarat. The company specialises in the safeand environmentally responsible dismantling of vessels and the recovery andresale of offshore and oilfield equipment.
