The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) is calling for the country's ship-breaking yards to closely monitor safety standards.
The move comes after India's government announced a plan to double recycling capacity and grab 50% of global market share.
At the announcement of last month's Union Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the effort would promote employment in the country and boost national finances.
"Efforts will be made to bring more ships to India from Europe and Japan. Recycling capacity of around 4.5m light ldt will be doubled by 2024. This is expected to generate an additional 1.5 lakh [150,000] jobs for our youth," Sitharaman said.
The Indian government is hoping that the ship recycling industry’s contribution to the national economy will increase from $1.3bn to $2.2bn as a result of the growth.
The move will seek to take advantage of Indian yards generally higher environmental and safety standards over rivals in Bangladesh and Pakistan. India currently has a leading 30% market share of global ship recycling.
Over the past decade, there has been a concerted effort to improve safety standards in the Indian ship-breaking region of Alang in response to higher regulatory standards and the environment, social and governance policies of shipowners.
So far around 90 Indian recycling yards have been awarded a statement of compliance with the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. India acceded to the Hong Kong Convention through its own 2019 Recycling of Ships Act.
IRClass chief executive Arun Sharma said environmental and safety performance will help India grow market share.
“India’s share of the ship recycling business is around 30% but with ratification of the international convention, we are undoubtedly on track to capture a significant share of the global ship recycling market,” he said.
Sharma claimed that there had been a 90% reduction in fatalities at Indian yards in 2019 compared to the previous year and there had been zero deaths in 2020.
However, he warned India should not take its eye off safety as it attempts to grow.
He said: “India has the world’s largest ship recycling operations, and it is imperative we have a rigorous process in place to ensure that these operations do not pose any unacceptable risks to human health, safety and our environment.”
IRClass has been active in providing ISO and Hong Kong Convention statement of compliance certification to Indian yards and is closely involved in the safety training and health and safety management of breaking yards.
