THE ONGOING TRANSFORMATION OF SUSTAINABLE SHIP RECYCLING IN INDIA
Commodore Debesh Lahiri , Ms Rhythma Kaul, and Ms Ayushi Srivastava
Abstract:
The ship recycling industry — an environmentally friendly and economically viable method for End-of-Life (EOL) vessels — underwent a historical shift from Europe and the United States to regions with more lenient regulations post-1970s, driven by stringent social and environmental laws in the Global North. This relocation of the ship recycling industry prompted a crucial examination of safety standards in ship recycling yards, emphasising the necessity for sustainable practices in managing EOL marine structures, given potential environmental and health hazards. The focal point of this study is the Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling Yard (ASSRY) in India, a critical hub in the industry’s evolution. Situated in the Gulf of Khambhat, Alang-Sosiya encompasses 153 ship-breaking yards along a 12-kilometre beachfront, further expanding to 4.5 kilometres. This report is part of the National Maritime Foundation’s (NMF) ongoing project, “Sustainable Ship Recycling Industry in India’’, funded generously under the aegis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Grant from the Goa Shipyard Limited for the financial year 2023-24. With an unwavering commitment to advancing sustainability in the maritime sector, the report meticulously scrutinises enhanced recycling, reusing, and disposal techniques, and provides a detailed exploration of the current scenario at Alang-Sosiya, informed by the NMF team’s field visit to ASSRY. The report offers a descriptive analysis, incorporating SWOT and PESTLE analyses of ASSRY. The authors draw insights from stakeholder interactions and on-site visits, proposing a strategic framework of short-, medium-, and long-term measures for the Indian ship recycling industry, and their analyses offer indispensable insights and recommendations for governmental and regulatory bodies, crucial for implementing necessary measures. The holistic approach adopted in this report will contribute significantly to the project’s overarching goal of positioning India as a global leader in ship recycling, characterised by elevated sustainability criteria thereby promoting the long-term sustainability and positive advancement of India’s ship recycling industry.
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ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE THREATS TO NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HOLISTIC MARITIME SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
Background:
In recent decades, climate change has evolved from a supposed distant problem for future generations to a major imminent security threat for all nations worldwide. Climate-change-induced food and water shortages, combined with sea level rise and extreme weather shocks, are potentially powerful destabilising forces within countries and across international borders. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods, droughts, and tropical storms, driven by climate change, are threatening ways of life for billions of people on the planet. Moreover, climate change often acts as a threat multiplier by amplifying existing stresses and could push already unstable and vulnerable regions over the edge.
Growing empirical evidence and expert analyses suggest that climate-change-induced resource scarcity can and will lead to societal unrest, internal and external (international) human migration, and increasing likelihood of international crime, terrorism, and State-on-State conflict, during the 21st century. While the international discourse around climate change mitigation has gained significant momentum in recent years due to the relentless efforts of scientists, communicators, and civil society in general, the correlations between climate change and national and regional security are yet to gain prominence among policymakers and strategists across all nations.
Recognising the urgency and seriousness of the risk posed by climate change to national and regional security in the Indo-Pacific, the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) embarked on a long-term, one-of-its-kind concerted project. The project envisages a series of six symposia to address the national and regional implications of climate change with regard to the following six sub-themes:
- Coastal and Off-shore Infrastructure Security
- Internal and International Maritime Crime, Terrorism, and State-on-State Conflict
- Food Security with specific emphasis on the Fisheries Sector
- Water Security for Coastal and Island Regions
- Human Security, including impacts of internal and external migration
- Economic Security in the context of the Blue Economy
The project attempts to bring Indian and international experts, academics, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders together to address the national and regional implications of climate change with regard to the different elements of human security, economic security, and hard security, in the form of research papers, policy briefs, discussion forums, and symposia.
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INDIA-VIETNAM DYADIC APPROACHES TO HOLISTIC MARITIME SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY: INCORPORATING GREEN NORMS IN INDIA’S SHIPBUILDING AND SHIP REPAIR INDUSTRY
Commodore Debesh Lahiri and Ayushi Srivastava
Abstract:
The synthesis report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (sixth assessment report) has unambiguously stated that the earth’s climate is changing at an alarming rate, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1 °C above 1850-1900 levels, during the period 2011-2020, principally through anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that have unequivocally caused global warming. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has embarked on a ‘mission-mode’ to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by at least half, by 2050, compared to the 2008 emission levels (which are taken as the baseline) and reducing carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit transport work) by at least 40 per cent by 2030, while continuing to pursue efforts towards a reduction of 70 per cent by 2050. It is appreciated by the authors that meeting these goals, would require a mix of technical, operational and innovative solutions. This report examines one such solution which is specifically applicable to ships, viz., an underwater-hull protection system (a.k.a. hull biofouling management) that has the potential to reduce GHG gases by approximately 5 to 25 per cent. This report examines the ship’s underwater hull protection techniques used in India and latest trends available globally, and makes specific implementable recommendations for the Indian shipbuilding and ship repair sector towards becoming more environmentally sustainable. Since, this research report is an outcome of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, a deliberate attempt has been made by the authors to educate the lay public about the basics of biofouling on a ship’s hull and its prevention.
This research was supported by the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Funds from Goa Shipyard Limited
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Assessing Climate Change Risks-to and Resilience-of India’s Seaport Infrastructure and Operations
Dr Pushp Bajaj and Dr Chime Youdon
Abstract: 
In the increasingly interconnected and interdependent contemporary world, trade forms a significant component of every major economy; for India, trade accounts for over one-third of the total economy. Around 95 percent of India’s merchandise trade, by volume, travels through the sea in cargo ships. India has 12 major ports and over 200 non-major ports that facilitate this trade which is expected to continue to grow in the future. In 2021, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of the Government of India unveiled the “Maritime India Vision 2030” which outlines a growth model focussed on building world-class greenfield ports, creating ‘smart ports’, modernising existing ports, promoting port-led industrialisation and public-private partnerships. While this ambitious vision and the development projects identified under it are critical in facilitating India’s transition from a “Brown Economy” to a “Blue Economy”, they are being and will continue to be seriously impeded by the ever-growing impacts of anthropogenic climate change. In this context, this study aims to assess the threats posed by climate change in the form of more intense and frequent extreme weather events and sea-level rise to India’s port infrastructure and operations. A climate-change-risk assessment framework and methodology were created which utilise a combination of available climatic data, field-based research, and expert-interviews with port officials to generate “climate-risk profiles” of Indian ports. The framework was tested and implemented through case studies of two of India’s major ports, namely, the Mumbai Port Authority (on the west coast) and the Paradip Port Authority (on the east coast). Findings from the two ports were compared to bring out the differences and commonalities in the challenges facing individual ports. The study highlights the urgent need for devising comprehensive and dynamic climate-change adaptation strategies for individual ports and a concerted policy framework at the national level to ensure long-term security and sustainability of India’s maritime trade sector.
This research was supported by the 2021-22 Fellowship of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
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