3 weeks ago
India ranks 1st in ship recycling, aims to double capacity
India has become the best country in the world at recycling old ships.
When ships get too old to sail, they are taken apart so the steel can be reused.
In 2025, India recycled more old ships than any other country.
Its share of world ship recycling went up from about 30 percent to about 35 percent.
The amount of ships India recycled also grew by almost 60 percent in one year.
Most of this work happens at a place called Alang, in Gujarat.
It is the biggest ship-recycling place in the world and handles about 98 percent of India's recycling.
The steel made at Alang is produced without taking natural resources from the earth.
India also wants to make its recycling capacity almost twice as big.
It reached its goal of becoming the world leader in ship recycling five years early.
India ranked first globally in ship recycling in 2025, with its global share rising from 30.1% in 2024 to 35.4% in 2025.
India's ship recycling volume grew nearly 60%, from 1.86 million gross tonnes in 2024 to 2.99 million gross tonnes in 2025.
The Alang-Sosiya ship recycling cluster in Gujarat, the world's largest ship recycling hub, accounts for approximately 98% of India's recycling activity.
India aims to nearly double its ship recycling capacity to about 9 million light displacement tonnes through planned development of the Alang Ship Recycling Yard.
The Maritime India Vision 2030 target of becoming the world's leading ship recycling nation was achieved five years ahead of schedule.
The Safety Training and Labour Welfare Institute at the Alang-Sosiya yard has cumulatively trained over 1.5 lakh (150,000) workers.
- Who
- India's ship recycling industry, led by the Alang-Sosiya cluster in Gujarat
- What
- India ranked first globally in ship recycling in 2025 and aims to nearly double its recycling capacity
- Where
- India, mainly the Alang-Sosiya cluster in Gujarat, with additional yards at Amar Iron Udyog in Kolkata and Steel Industrials Kerala Limited (SILK) in Kerala
- When
- 2025, with an official factsheet announced on a Tuesday
- Why
- To expand capacity and reflect the growing competitiveness of Indian ship recycling yards in the global market
Key facts
- Global rank
- 1st in ship recycling (2025)
- Global share
- 35.4% in 2025, up from 30.1% in 2024
- Recycling volume
- 2.99 million GT in 2025, up from 1.86 million GT in 2024
- Volume growth
- Nearly 60%
- Main recycling hub
- Alang-Sosiya cluster, Gujarat (~98% of India's activity)
- Annual capacity at Alang-Sosiya
- Around 6 million GT
- Steel produced at Alang
- About 3.50 million metric tonnes per annum
- Capacity target
- About 9 million LDT (nearly double)
Quotes
Official factsheet
An official statement released by a government factsheet
“The rise reflects India’s expanding capacity and indicates the growing competitiveness of Indian ship recycling yards in the global market. The target set under Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 to become the world’s leading ship recycling nation has been achieved five years ahead of schedule, said the statement.”
thehansindia.com
thehansindia.com
“Around 3.50 million metric tonnes (MMT) of steel is produced per annum at Alang without exploiting natural resources. It is supported by authorised ship recycling yards, downstream steel re-rolling mills, and waste management infrastructure.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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