Image for representation purposes only The European Commission is facing calls to remove two Indian shipbreaking facilities from its proposed updated list of approved ship recycling yards after an environmental group warned their inclusion would weaken the European Union’s ship recycling standards. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform said the Commission’s proposal to add Shree Ram and YSI Recyclers, both located in the Alang-Sosiya shipbreaking hub in Gujarat, India, to the 16th update of the EU List of ship recycling facilities marks a major change from previous editions of the list. The Commission has opened a public consultation on the proposed update. It also plans to remove another Turkish shipbreaking yard from the list because of recurring deficiencies. According to the NGO, approving the two beaching yards would raise concerns about the future direction of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR), which is intended to ensure ships are recycled safely and in an environmentally sound way. The group said that if the Commission’s assessment allows facilities that pose risks to coastal ecosystems, workers and nearby communities to be approved, the regulation’s objectives would not be achieved. Beaching, the main method used for shipbreaking in South Asia, involves dismantling ships directly on tidal mudflats without infrastructure to contain pollution. The NGO said this allows debris and hazardous materials, including oil, fuel and liquid chemical residues, to enter seawater and contribute to environmental damage. “None of the beaching yards would be allowed to clone their operations on a tidal mudflat in the EU. Their inclusion on the EU List will set a chilling double standard and seriously undermine the EU’s own ship recycling sector,” said Ingvild Jenssen, Executive Director and Founder of NGO Shipbreaking Platform. The organisation also referred to a heavy fuel spill at the Priya Blue shipbreaking yard in June 2026. It sa