SSI charts the progress made under the Hong Kong Convention in new report

According to the “Alang in Transition: From Compliance to Capability” study, with global vessel retirements expected to rise significantly over the coming decade, the industry’s challenge is twofold, to continuously improve safety standards while also scaling up dismantling capacity without compromising operational safety and capability.

“The progress made in HKC-compliant facilities is real and provides a strong foundation to build on. To meet the scale and complexity of vessel retirements coming in the next decade, the next phase of safety improvement will depend on three things working together: harnessing digital innovation at yard level, embedding end-of-life thinking into ship design and maintenance, and investing in the workforce knowledge that turns procedures into safe daily practice,” said Ellie Besley-Gould, Chief Executive, Sustainable Shipping Initiative.

An industry roadmap to 2050 would give the sector the framework it needs, with clear milestones for safety, digitisation and sustainable dismantling. The decisions taken now will shape the conditions facing recycling workers for decades to come.

…Ellie Besley-Gould highlighted.

In an exclusive interview to SAFETY4SEA, Ellie Besley-Gould highlighted that the real task for the industry is to align incentives across the value chain so that better performance becomes the commercially normal choice.

According to the report, with 115 of 128 operational plots in the Alang-Sosiya cluster in Gujarat now HKC compliant, and recovery rates approaching 98% of vessel mass, the study finds the foundations are in place for the sector to go further by combining digital solutions and processes, whole-lifecycle accountability starting at vessel design, and investing further in the continuity of accumulated workforce knowledge at recycling facilities.

Key insights

#1 Safety capability develops through systems, not single interventions

Safety performance is not achieved through individual compliance measures alone. It emerges from the interaction of multiple elements including workforce training, supervision structures, infrastructure investment, operational sequencing, communication practices and equipment reliability. Strengthening safety therefore requires attention to the overall operational system, rather than isolated improvements.

#2 Local engineering innovation is an important safety asset

Several safety improvements observed at the Ship Recycling Facility (SRF) were developed through local engineering adaptation, including modifications to winch systems, crane placement strategies and workshop-based tool repair. Supporting local technical capability allows SRFs to adapt equipment and processes to the specific conditions of ship dismantling.

#3 Supervision structures and communication systems are critical

Safety procedures are translated into daily practice through supervision and communication. The Mukadam supervisory system, combined with multilingual communication practices, plays an important role in coordinating cutting operations, crane movements and worker positioning. Strong communication systems help ensure that safety procedures remain active during complex operations.

#4 Operational density introduces new coordination risks

As facilities increase mechanisation and material recovery efficiency, the nature of risk changes. Higher throughput and increased crane usage improve productivity but also introduce new coordination challenges, particularly around:

• Suspended load exposure, and worker exposure during un/rigging and un/slinging of loads using legacy/non-magnetic cranes
• Spatial congestion
• Simultaneous operations in shared work zones

#5 Opportunities for future development

Looking ahead, several emerging tools and approaches from other high-risk industries may offer useful opportunities for ship recycling, including:

• Digital twin modelling for SRF operations
• Enhanced lifecycle documentation systems
• Utilizing radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems to locate the material from the ship and document its movement across the SRF for developing accurate grading of steel recovered from the vessel

#6 Risk redistribution across the vessel lifecycle

Many of the hazards encountered during dismantling originate from earlier decisions made during ship design, construction and operation. Limited documentation of hazardous materials, complex structural configurations and the absence of design-for-disassembly considerations increase the risks faced by recycling workers.

Strengthening lifecycle accountability across shipowners, designers and regulators could reduce these inherited risks and support safer end-of-life vessel management.

#7 Workforce continuity and knowledge retention

The accumulated operational knowledge of experienced supervisors and workers is the primary safety infrastructure of any high-performing facility. Contract structures, housing conditions, career pathways and worker welfare all affect whether that knowledge stays in the system or leaves with the people who carry it. Safety capability grows when the facility retains the people who know the work.

The Mukadam system is the clearest expression of this principle, and its continuity, including the succession of experienced supervisors and the preservation of the communication systems they have developed, must be treated as a safety investment.

Satish Singh, Chief Operating Officer at Priya Blue Group, further noted: “At Priya Blue Group, we have always taken a forward-looking view of our responsibilities, and have worked to set the benchmark for the Indian ship recycling industry. This report shows the world what Indian ship recyclers are doing today, and what we are capable of delivering tomorrow, sustainably and responsibly. It captures our operations with transparency and accuracy, and the author has done a commendable job of documenting the innovations, the supervisory systems and the everyday practices that define our facility, and safety standards.”

In addition, Maria Marilyn Joseph, Ship Recycling Lead, Sustainable Shipping initiative and author of the report, commented that spending time inside the facility made it clear that the Mukadam supervisory system, where supervisors have 40 years of accumulated operational judgement and can translate written procedures into safe practice in real time, is one of the most important safety assets.

The locally engineered adaptations we documented, from modified winch systems to workshop-fabricated components, exist because equipment designed specifically for ship recycling environments hardly yet exists. Both factors across human knowledge and engineering innovation are assets the wider industry can learn from, and that the next decade of growth must protect.

…Maria Marilyn Joseph concluded.