International Shipbreaking approved by EU

Brownsville, Texas-based International Shipbreaking LLC (ISL) has completed the European Union Commission vetting process and will be listed as an “approved” ship recycling facility until 2028.

ISL has been approved to recycle EU flagged vessels since 2018 and is the only yard in the U.S. to be featured on the European list.

“Our inclusion on the EU Commission’s list of approved ship recycling facilities is testament to our dedication to safety and environmental compliance and our role in steering ship recycling towards a better future for its employees and the industry as a whole,” ISL President Chris Green says.

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Part of U.K.-based metal recycler EMR, ISL is one of 45 sites with approval from the EU Commission to dismantle large sea-going vessels. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires all large sea-going vessels sailing under an EU member state flag to use an approved ship recycling facility.

To qualify for the list, a facility must comply with safety and environmental requirements set out in EU legislation. 

ISL recently invested $30 million in compliant infrastructure, which it says was integral to it being awarded EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) accreditation.

“Over the past couple of years, we have seen three times the number of inquiries from EU ship owners who want to ensure that their ships are recycled responsibly, and we’re now in a position to provide EU-based ship owners, as well as ships flying the flags of EU member states, with a long-standing decommissioning service that they can trust,” Green says.

As previously reported by Recycling Today, ISL announced plans to introduce robotics to its operations last month. Developed by a team of engineers in Massachusetts, the company says the robots will assist employees in cutting metal using oxy-propane torches to increase safety.