In 2025, India has achieved a new milestone in the global ship recycling industry by becoming the world's leading ship recycling country. India accounted for 35.4% of global ship recycling activity so far this year, compared with 30.1% in the previous year, according to the latest data released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This increase places India ahead of other major ship recycling countries.

India has seen a rise in its ship recycling tonnage from 1.86 million gross tons (GT) to 2.99 million GT within the year of 2025. This has contributed to India attaining its objective of making its ports a leading ship recycling center in the world by the MIV 2030 program ahead of time.

The consistent changes in maritime policies by the government, coupled with their efforts to make doing business easier, have contributed significantly to this success. According to the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, this accomplishment can be attributed to "strong leadership and clear regulatory framework," among other things done by the industry.

A major factor behind this growth has been the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, which has aligned India's ship recycling industry with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. Over ₹53.5 crore has been allocated to modernise recycling yards, enabling more than 115 yards to meet the convention's requirements. Further, the Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme has encouraged ship owners and promoted domestic shipbuilding.

India plans to double its recycling capacity by developing the Alang ship recycling yard. India is capable of recycling 500-600 ships per year, which is bound to rise sharply in the coming decade because of increasing demands all over the world. This accomplishment shows the increased importance of India in the sustainable development of the maritime industry.