A single ship-recycling certificate "to ease the administrative burden on ship owners" (Commission)

A single certificate to comply with the EU's Ship Recycling Regulation of 2013 and the Hong Kong Convention of 2025 for ship owners, this is the update adopted by the European Commission on 19/01/2026 in its effort to ease the administrative burden on companies.

The EU'S Ship Recycling Regulation, adopted in 2013, is a regulatory framework to recycle large seagoing vessels sailing under an EU Member State flag (approximately 30% of the world's fleet in tonnage). It sets the requirements for ships and recycling facilities, the limits and prohibitions of hazardous materials on ships and the European list of compliant ship recycling facilities located in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland and the UK) and outside Europe (Turkey and the U.S.).

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, adopted in 2009, entered into force in June 2025. It is an international agreement covering the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships to facilitate safe and…