It is still in its infancy: ship recycling in Germany is only just getting started. Nevertheless, after a lengthy approval process, EWD Benli became the first German shipyard to receive its license as a ship recycler this year. Given the huge number of ships that will need to be dismantled in the coming years – and fueled by growing demand for domestic and “green” steel – a new industry could flourish on the German coast. There is also a lot going on in the recycling of GRP recreational boats: several companies have discovered this promising business area for themselves. An overview.
The inventor of the ship is the inventor of shipwreck, the poet Karl Mickel once wrote. One could add: and also of a pile of floating hazardous waste that will eventually end up on land. Because at some point, every boat and every ship has served its purpose, and at some point there will be no more buyers or anyone who wants it for free.
At that point, the question arises: where to put the scrap? Scrapping is then the order of the day. What applies on a large scale (for steel ships) also applies to smaller vessels (boats, especially the countless recreational boats made of GRP – glass-reinforced plastic). Reason enough for the Maritime Cluster Norddeutschland (MCN) to invite experts to Kiel in October 2025 for a compact information and discussion event on the topic of ship recycling.
“We don’t just want to inform, we also want to bring relevant players into the conversation,” said Peter Moller, MCN office manager in Schleswig-Holstein, in his welcome address. Around 35 participants from business, associations, and research accepted his invitation.
16,000 ships to be recycled in the next ten years face a significant global shortage of capacity
To kick things off, Henning Gramann, managing director and owner of GSR Services GmbH, outlined a “market in transition”: 16,000 ships to be recycled in the next ten years face a significant global shortage of capacity. “Those who properly explore the market have good opportunities,” he said with conviction.
The growing demand for recycled steel supports his optimism. On the other hand, Gramann highlighted the complex legal framework in which ship recycling takes place, as well as the demanding and sometimes lengthy approval procedures, as risks for potential recycling companies in Germany.
One way to achieve greater circularity is to consider future recycling when designing ships
Kamila Szwejk, a researcher at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, called for greater circularity in the maritime industry. “We must strive for a climate-positive system,” she argued passionately. One way to achieve this is to consider future recycling when designing ships. In addition, recyclers should not focus solely on steel. Szwejk appealed for ships to be seen not as “waste” in the future, but as a source of valuable materials: “What if we no longer thought of a ship as just a ship, but as a bank of materials?” she asked.
Roman Luplow, project manager at Inros Lackner SE and an internationally experienced shipyard planner, appealed to (potential) German recyclers to “consistently rely on technology and efficient methods from shipbuilding experience” in view of global low-cost competition.
“We have to dismantle differently than the Indians and must not engage in ruinous competition,” Luplow emphasized. In order to become competitive, German companies should not focus too much on steel recovery, but should increasingly consider other recyclable materials: highly complex and particularly polluted ships would represent a “promising niche,” according to Lupow.
Emder Werft und Dock GmbH is the first German company to receive an operating license for ship recycling
Emder Werft und Dock GmbH (EWD) shows that recovering steel scrap and other recyclable materials from dismantled old ships can be a lucrative additional business for German shipbuilding companies, and that shipyards on the North Sea and Baltic Sea could find recycling to be an interesting business area in the future, alongside new construction and repair work. This company is the first German company to obtain an operating license for ship recycling for its newly founded subsidiary EWD Benli Recycling GmbH & Co. KG.
The approval process for ship recycling on the premises of a shipbuilding company basically follows the same procedures as other processes – only the project itself is still relatively new. “We have an existing shipyard, so no new facilities, but there are new implications,” explained Martina Johannsen, who accompanied the Emden project on behalf of the Oldenburg State Trade Supervisory Office.
Although the demolition work is similar to that involved in converting or repairing a ship, an extension of the operating license is required in accordance with the legal provisions for waste treatment and emission control. The authorities involved must act within certain deadlines to obtain approval, Johannsen emphasized.
The operating license for the recycling subsidiary of the Emden shipyard also has symbolic value: on June 26, 2025, the Hong Kong Convention on the “safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships” came into force. The convention is intended to put an end to the environmentally and health-hazardous dismantling of old tonnage on beaches, which has been common practice up to now, primarily in Asia.
Experts generally expect demand for recycling capacities to grow strongly in the coming years
Experts generally expect demand for recycling capacities to grow strongly in the coming years. “The global merchant fleet has doubled in size over the past 15 years and is on average over 20 years old,” explained event moderator Henning Gramann, who has been dealing with this issue for many years as an international consultant with his company GSR-Services GmbH.
He is convinced that up to 98 percent of the materials used in a ship can be recycled; there will be particularly high demand for shipbuilding steel in view of the high demand for scrap in the steel industry. Gramann believes that Germany has a special responsibility for safe and clean ship recycling: “Germany is a leader in the manufacture of maritime components, cruise ship and special shipbuilding, and ranks seventh worldwide in shipping. This creates responsibilities that go beyond the construction and operation of ships.”
EWD also wants to remain at the forefront of technological innovation in the future, which is why it is involved in the ZIM ShipRec network initiated by MCN. This network was presented by Dr. Daniela Köster from EurA AG. It is a platform for technological developments along the entire value chain of sustainable ship recycling – with the aim of developing a scalable and transferable dismantling process for large maritime structures that integrates modern separation processes, digitalization, and dismantling management.
What already works in ship recycling also has an impact on large and small recreational boats, which are largely made of plastics
What already works in ship recycling also has an impact on large and small recreational boats, which are largely made of plastics. Here, too, initial developments can be observed, not only in the proper disposal of GRP boats and yachts from the private sector – which in itself represents significant progress – but also, as far as possible, in their recycling.
However, GRP, which forms the basis of around 80 percent of all boats built in the last 50 years, is extremely problematic – not all plastics are the same, GRP cannot simply be remelted, and in most cases the plastic of the boat hull forms inseparable bonds with other components, some of which are made of different materials. According to estimates, there are currently at least 30,000 GRP scrap boats that need to be disposed of, and the number is growing.
Against this backdrop, the recycling of GRP recreational boats is becoming increasingly relevant. The challenge lies in organizing suitable recycling processes, whereby the recovery of high-quality raw materials (compared, for example, to boats with metal hulls) is very costly and demanding in the case of plastics, which also drives up the price.
Nevertheless – or perhaps precisely because of this – some boat recyclers have taken up this challenge. Here is an overview by country (not exhaustive).
Info on boat recycling in Germany, France, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, and Italy:
Germany
Example Germany: For some time now, the Hamburg-based company ReBoat Maritime Recycling has been offering complete boat disposal services. According to the company, the work is carried out in strict accordance with the KrWG (German Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act). The disposal process is as follows: request, collection of the boat with the company’s own trucks, or alternatively delivery by the customer, drying of the boat, removal of hazardous materials, classification of raw materials, distribution of materials.
According to its own statements, ReBoat has recognized and exploited both the technical and economic opportunities, because only through this combination can it offer economical disposal. Without optimal raw material recovery, disposal costs would quickly exceed €1,000 per ton, depending on the boat and its construction. With ReBoat, on the other hand, boat disposal can be offered at a much lower price.
The Berlin-based company “Die Bootsbestatter” – a collaboration between Blueboating.de Berlin Andreas Wolter and your-yachtexpert.de Teut Juncker in Marina Lanke Berlin Spandau – mainly operate in Berlin and Brandenburg as well as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, but also throughout Germany if necessary. Here, too, there is the option of pick-up/transport, and here, too – as with ReBoat – there is an online cost calculator on the website to get an initial estimate of the price.
AES-Berlin also recycles all types of boats and, with its own fleet of vehicles, can guarantee Europe-wide transport of boats for recycling. Important: once the work has been completed, the former owner should be given a certificate of disposal – this documents the professional disposal of the boat and can be presented to insurance companies and authorities for deregistration.
France
France has been actively recycling boats for several years and is setting an example. Here, the Association pour la Plaisance Eco-Responsable (APER), a national environmental organization approved by the French Ministry, manages the dismantling and recycling of sports and sailing boats. This system works extremely well and has proven itself over the years: manufacturers and importers pay the APER a so-called eco-contribution for every boat sold in France, thereby helping to finance the disposal of old boats.
Private individuals can easily apply for the disposal of their boat via an online application form. The best part is that disposal is completely free of charge for them. The owner only has to pay the transport costs to the respective registered APER disposal companies. At the disposal centers, the boats are then professionally dismantled and the materials recycled as far as possible. In addition, the boat is then automatically deregistered. As of today, APER already works with 35 approved disposal centers in France.
Austria
In Austria, several companies also recycle boats. The company Vorwagner Kreislaufwirtschaft in Gmunden provides a cost estimate after an initial inspection. If this is accepted, they will take care of the disposal; collection or self-delivery are possible. Saubermacher AG, based in Krems, and its partner company L&S Recycling in St. Pölten also offer boat recycling – however, you must deliver the boat yourself.
Several disposal companies also offer containers for GRP waste, but the boat must be completely gutted and dismantled, and the different materials must be separated. Prices vary greatly, depending mainly on the size of the container, the location, and the duration of the container’s placement.
Croatia
Those planning to dispose of a boat in Croatia have few options. One of them is Metis d.o.o., one of the few professional service providers that specialises in boat disposal and is willing and able to issue a proper invoice or proof of proper disposal. However, there are a few shipyards in Croatia that specialize in the scrapping of fishing boats, and it is also worth inquiring about the disposal/recycling of pleasure boats: Brodogradiliste in Cres, Jadransirovina in Ploce, Kvarnerplastika in Rijeka, Leda in Korcula, Montmontaza Greben in Vela Luka, Nauta Lamjana in Kali, Odisej in Kastel Stafilic, and Tehnomont Brodogradiliste in Pula.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, for example, boats can be disposed of professionally at the Meier shipyard in Pfäffikon/Zurich, and reusable engines or boat trailers are credited to the customer. Offers are made on an individual basis, and boat collection is also possible.
Italy
Boat recycling in Italy: the scrapping of a ship is carried out entirely by PR Ecology, the only company in Italy that has all the necessary permits for the entire cycle, from dismantling the boats to transporting them to disposal in an approved facility.
