Ship recycling will boost shipping industry business to $2 billion, says Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

NEW DELHI: Amid the increasing demand for ship recycling in India, Parliament on Monday gave its nod to the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 steered by Minister of State for Shipping (Independent Charge) Mansukh Mandaviya, which seeks to regulate the industry in accordance with international standards. According to Mansukh Mandaviya, the bill takes into account the need for regulating the industry and ensuring that it helps the industry grow to about $2 billion per year in India.

The Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 was passed in Rajya Sabha by a voice vote on Monday, after being cleared by the Lok Sabha last week. The bill will now go to the President for his approval after which it will become a law.

In an exclusive interview with Zee Media, Mansukh Mandaviya hailed the move and called it a big step which will boost employment and create business opportunities.

"There are around 53,000 merchant ships in the world, out of which 1,000 ships are recycled every year and about 300 of them come to India for the same. The biggest advantage of this is that 10 per cent of the steel requirement of the country will be met by ship recycling and a large number of people will benefit from it," said Mansukh Mandaviya.

"It might interest you to know that in Gujarat alone, a large number of people hailing from Bihar and other states come to work in the ship recycling industry. They are connected with the ship industry and all these people are going to benefit immensely from this," pointed out the minister.

On being questioned about environmental concerns related to ship recycling if toxic materials are found, the Shipping Minister said, "The bill has provisions to ensure that toxic ships are not be recycled. Only after acquiring all the information regarding the ship, will the process begin." 

The minister further stated that all security arrangements will be made at places where recycling will be carried out.

Speaking about the benefits the bill will bring for the shipping industry, Mandaviya said Indian economy will receive a massive boost with the implementation of the bill.

"At present, the ship recycling industry does a business of $1.3 billion, and after this bill becomes a law and is implemented in India, it is likely to cross $2 billion in India," he added.