Abstract The global shipping industry is at a critical stage as it faces an unprecedented challenge in responsibly recycling large vessels exceeding 50,000 gross tonnages (GT). These huge ships, including post-Panamax, Suezmax, & ultra-large container vessels, along with Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs), and Ultra Large Gas Carriers (ULGCs) represent an integral part of the international maritime trade yet pose unique complexities when they reach the end-of-useful-life phase. One of the biggest challenges in front of the industry is that there aren't enough recycling facilities that can handle these huge ships safely and responsibly. Some of the other impending issues related to the recycling of these large vessels have been discussed in detail in this paper, including the regulatory landscape, infrastructural limitations (limited supply), environmental considerations, and economic feasibility. Large vessels require specialised shipbreaking facilities that demand substantial capital investment, mainly to accommodate such ships. Few critical infrastructural investments include dredging costs to comply with adequate draft depths of 8-10 meters, berth or drydock width of over 40 meters, and heavy-lift cranes capable of handling over 50-ton blocks. The challenge is further amplified considering that approximately 16,000 vessels (representing over 700 million deadweight tonnes - DWT) are expected to reach their end-of-life and require recycling over the next decade. This projection is nearly three times the ships recycled over the last 10 years. (MI News Network 2025) This paper evaluates the major challenges regarding the recycling of large ships, assessing the regulatory landscape with special emphasis on the IMO's Hong Kong International Convention (HKC) ratification, market dynamics, infrastructure constraints, and industry stakeholder responsibility. The analysis addresses the urgent need for green ship recycling that balances environmental protection, worker safety, and financial viability while meeting the growing demand for responsible ship recycling. Some emphasis has also been placed on the underlying opportunity for a circular economy and the potential supply of green steel.
Banerjee et al. (Mon,) studied this question.