India notifies DG Shipping as apex authority for ships recycling

October 15, 2020: Central government of India has notified the Director-General of Shipping as National Authority for Recycling of Ships under section 3 of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.

As an apex body, DG Shipping is authorized to administer, supervise and monitor all activities relating to ship recycling. DG Shipping will look after the sustainable development of the ship recycling industry, monitoring the compliance to environment-friendly norms and safety and health measures for the stakeholders working in the ship recycling industry. DG Shipping will be the final authority for the various approvals required by the ship-recycling yard owners and state governments.

National Authority of Ship Recycling will be set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The location of the office will benefit the Ship Recycling yard owners situated in Alang, Gujarat which is home of Asia’s largest ship breaking and ship recycling industry in the world.

Under Ship Recycling Act, 2019, India has acceded to Hong Kong Convention for Ship Recycling under International Maritime Organization (IMO). DG Shipping is a representative of India in IMO and all the conventions of IMO are being enforced by DG Shipping.