The global ship-breaking market remained in deep waters in 2023. Total tonnage sunk 13% to 2.8 million light displacement tonnage (LDT) compared to 3.2 million LDT recorded in 2022. Bangladesh had snatched back its position as the largest ship-breaker globally in terms of tonnage earlier last year from India and retained it till the end. It concluded the year with total tonnage rising over 20% to 1.10 million LDT against 0.9 million LDT in 2022. It also led in terms of vessels demolished, at 138 units compared to 128 in 2022, up 39% y-o-y. India, on the other hand, slipped 9% to 0.9 million LDT (1.1 million LDT). However, the number of ships demolished rose a modest 8% to 138 from 128 in 2022. Pakistan and Turkiye have been neck-and-neck since 2022. Demolition tonnage fell 50% last year for both to 0.02 million LDT from 0.04 million LDT in 2022. Both saw a drop in the number of vessels recycled but Pakistan’s plunged 65% to a mere 15 while Turkiye experienced a modest 8% drop to 44 (48 in 2022).
