The EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR), in place since 2018, has largely met its objectives, but its further progress hinges on responsible practices of shipowners, a ‘considerable’ number of whom have “actively undermined” the guideline’s success, a new evaluation by the European Commission argues.

In an evaluation released in late February, 2025, the European Commission highlighted the progress that the SRR has made thus far in supporting global standards, both existing and upcoming, such as the “Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships” , set to enter force in June 2025, though with full compliance required by 2030.