Ship owners preparing vessels for recycling will now be able to meet their legal requirements using a single administrative certificate, following a new decision by the European Commission aimed at cutting paperwork without weakening safety or environmental standards.

The European Commission adopted new standard formats for ship recycling certificates on 19 January.

These updated formats allow ship owners to comply with both the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships using a single set of documents.

The Commission said the change is designed to reduce administrative burden while keeping EU requirements fully in place.

Under the new system, the certificates will cover the inventory of hazardous materials on board ships, which records substances such as asbestos, as well as confirmation that a vessel is ready for recycling.

Until now, ship owners often needed separate documents to meet different regulatory frameworks.

European ship owners control about 30% of the world’s fleet by tonnage.

Despite this, many vessels are dismantled outside the European Union, mainly in South Asia, where ship recycling practices have frequently raised concerns over worker safety and environmental harm.

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation, adopted in 2013, provides the legal framework for recycling large seagoing vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State.

It sets requirements for ships and recycling yards, restricts or bans the use of certain hazardous materials on board, and maintains a European List of approved ship recycling facilities located in the EU and other regions.

The Hong Kong Convention entered into force in June 2025 and sets international standards for safer and more environmentally sound ship recycling.

However, the European Commission has stated that these global standards are less strict than EU rules in some areas.

As part of the International Maritime Organisation’s experience-building phase, the Commission said it will help assess how the convention is being implemented and support efforts to strengthen global ship recycling standards in the future.

The Commission believes the new certificate formats will make compliance easier for ship owners while continuing to promote safer and more responsible ship recycling worldwide.

Reference: European Commission