First World Problems, Developing World Impacts: An Assessment of the Adequacy of the Law on Shipbreaking

Abstract

Shipbreaking, or recycling, is a potentially destructive practice reflecting many dimensions to the modern sustainable development debate. It engages a suite of legal issues and has prompted discussion between professionals concerned with the environment, the economy and workplace ethics. This article seeks, first, to identify the breadth of issues that arise within the shipbreaking industry; and then proceeds to discuss the legal frameworks that regulate the trade, their effectiveness or otherwise; and concludes that the overall efforts to impose legislative or other regulatory systems, internationally and domestically, are far from what is needed in order to reform shipbreaking into a safe, sufficiently economical and environmentally sustainable industry.