India emerged as the world's leading ship-recycling nation in 2025

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India ranked first globally in ship recycling, with its market share rising to 35.4% and volume reaching 2.99 million GT in 2025.
The Alang-Sosiya cluster in Gujarat accounts for approximately 97% of India's ship recycling activity.
Key government initiatives include the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, the Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme, and the Maritime India Vision 2030.

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, India ranked first globally in ship recycling.

Ship recycling in India

Market Share: India’s global market share rose to 35.4% (2025), from 30.1% (2024).
Volume: Reached 2.99 million gross tons (GT) in 2025, a ~60% increase over 2024, achieving the Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 target 5 years ahead.
Geographical Hub: The Alang-Sosiya cluster, Gujarat, largest ship recycling hub in the world, accounts for ~ 97% of India's recycling activity.
- Other clusters with limited capacity: Kolkata, Kerala, and Mumbai.

Recycling of Ships Act, 2019: Aims to develop a ship recycling ecosystem aligned with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC).
Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme: Ship owners receive a credit note worth 40% of the scrap value, redeemable for up to 5% of the cost of a new vessel built at Indian shipyard.
Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030: Aims to make India world's top-ranked ship-recycling nation and a hub for safe and environmentally friendly ship dismantling
Expansion of Alang Ship Recycling Yard: To nearly double its ship recycling capacity to about 9 million light displacement tons (LDT).
Inclusion Under European Union Ship Recycling Regulations: Government is actively engaging for inclusion of Indian shipyards under EU’s approved list.