Boost Indian ship recycling for greener steel, report urges

India could use its ship recycling sector to reduce emissions from its steel industry, according to a new report.

Ship recycling is said to be an ‘often-overlooked industry’ as a source of high-quality scrap steel. The report, Turning the Tide: Ship Recycling as a Source of Green Steel in Indiareport has been launched in New Delhi by ngo Climate Group and consultants PWC.

India has the world’s largest installed capacity for ship recycling and the report finds that could be increased given its extensive coastline and favourable geographical conditions. The ship recycling industry, primarily based at Alang in Gujarat, processes around one-third of the world’s decommissioned ships.

Importance of scrap

About 80-85% of a ship is made of steel, making it a significant source for scrap or recycled steel, which can be melted down and used as a raw material in crude steel production.

It is estimated that an average 1.3 tonnes of iron ore, 780 kgs of coal and 270 kgs of limestone are saved for every tonne of scrap steel used in steel production.

India’s steel industry accounts for 12% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions because steel production is still heavily dependent on coal.

According to the report, if India doubled its recycling capacity by 2028 to accommodate more decommissioned ships, up to 20 million tonnes ofemissions could be avoided by 2040 by using the resulting steel.

Advanced recycling

The report recommends that new ship recycling facilities should adopt advanced technologies and comply with international environmental and safety standards.

Atul Mudaliar, director of systems change, India at Climate Group, says theavailability of scrap is a key lever for India to decarbonise its steel industry.

‘Our study explores scrap from ship recycling — an often-overlooked industry as a source of high-quality scrap steel. The circular nature of the ship recycling industry would boost the sustainability of the steel industry.’

‘We hope the report’s recommendations will provide policymakers, ship recycling and steel industries with pragmatic insights to explore new ways to collaborate and bring down emissions.’