Ship recycling practices and the legal risks involved for Swedish shipowners: A case study of the ships ATLANTIC COMPANION, BARBRO and FALSTAFF

Abstract

The area of ship recycling has seen the entry into force of many new regulations, and with the entry into force of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships in 2025, shipowners face a different market than they did ten years ago. This case study examines the ship recycling practices of ATLANTIC COMPANION, BARBRO, and FALSTAFF, in order to understand why they were recycled as they were and if these practices are feasible in today’s regulatory and civil liability environment. The results show that ship recycling practices cannot remain the same as in with the three ships examined. None of the ships were compliant with the legislation of today, particularly compliance with the European Ship Recycling Regulation falters. Furthermore, on the matter of civil liability, under recent case law only FALSTAFF was recycled in a manner where the shipowner can confidently be assumed not liable for damages to workers at recycling facilities or the environment. Additionally, in line with previous research, the observation of the study is that the price the shipowner receives for selling the ship for recycling has a significant impact on ship recycling practices. The study has focused on Swedish shipowners as they are generally perceived to be more invested in sustainability. As for other delimitations, national regulations have been excluded from the analysis and industry guidelines have not been evaluated.