1. Short title, commencement and application.—(1) This Act may be called the Recycling of Ships
Act, 2019.
(2) It shall come into force on such date1
as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any
reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the
coming into force of that provision.
(3) Unless otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Act shall apply to—
(a) any existing ship which is registered in India wherever it may be;
(b) any new ship which is required to be registered in India, wherever it may be;
1. 27th October, 2020,- S. 3 vide notification No. S.O. 3838(E), dated 27th October, 2020, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary,
Part II, sec. 3 (ii).
25th February, 2021,- S. 6, 30 and 42 vide notification No. S.O. 889 (E), dated 25th February, 2021, see Gazette of India,
Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii).
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(c) ships, other than those referred to in clauses (a) and (b), that enter a port, shipyard or off-shore
terminal or a place in India or within the Exclusive Economic Zone or territorial waters of India or
any marine areas adjacent thereto over which India has, or may have, exclusive jurisdiction with
respect to control of pollution under the provisions of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf,
Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, or any other law for the time being
in force;
(d) any warship, naval auxiliary or other ship owned or operated by an Administration and used
on Government non-commercial service, and which is destined for recycling in a ship recycling
facility operating in or within the territorial jurisdiction of India; and
(e) ship recycling facilities operating in India or within any area falling under the exclusive
territorial jurisdiction of India.
2. Definitions.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,––
(a) “Administration” means the Government of the country whose flag the ship is entitled to fly,
or under whose authority it is operating;
(b) “certificate of authorisation of ship recycling facility” means the certificate referred to in
sub-section (6) of section 12;
(c) “certificate on inventory of hazardous materials” means the certificate referred to in section 8;
(d) “Competent Authority” means such Authority designated by the Central Government under
section 4;
(e) “hazardous material” means any material or substance, which is liable to cause harm to human
beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms, property or the environment;
(f) “National Authority” means such Authority designated by the Central Government under
section 3;
(g) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expressions
“notify” or “notified” shall be construed accordingly;
(h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i) “ready for recycling certificate” means the certificate referred to in section 16;
(j) “regulations” means the regulations made by the National Authority under this Act;
(k) “ship” means a vessel and floating structure of any type whatsoever operating or having
operated in the marine environment and includes submersibles, floating craft, floating platforms, selfelevating platforms, the floating storage units, and the like;
(l) “ship owner” means––
(i) a person or an association of persons or body of individuals or a company registered as the
owner of the ship;
(ii) any organisation or a person such as the Manager or the Bareboat Charterer, who has
assumed the responsibility for operation of the ship from the owner of the ship;
(iii) a company, which is registered as operator and is operating a ship owned by the
Government; or
(iv) a person or an association of persons or company owning the ship for a limited period
pending its sale or handing over to a ship recycling facility;
(m) “Ship Recycler” means the owner of the ship recycling facility or any other organisation or
person who has assumed the responsibility for operation of the ship recycling facility and who has
agreed to take over all duties and responsibilities imposed by or under this Act;
(n) “ship recycling” means the activity of dismantling of a ship at a ship recycling facility in order
to recover components and materials for reprocessing and reuse, while taking care of hazardous and
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other materials and includes associated operations such as storage, treatment of components and
materials on site, but not their further processing or disposal in separate facilities;
(o) “ship recycling facility” means a defined area that is a site, yard or facility used for the
recycling of ships and meets such requirements as may be specified by the regulations;
(p) “ship recycling plan” means a plan specific to a ship developed by the ship recycling facility
to recycle such a ship in safe and environmentally sound manner;
(q) “statement of acceptance” means a statement of acceptance referred to in sub-section (4) of
section 20;
(r) “statement of completion” means a statement of completion referred to in section 23;
(s) “Surveyor” means a Surveyor as defined under clause (48) of section 3 of the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1958 or any other person or body of persons as may be notified by the Central
Government;
(t) “worker” means a person employed, directly or by or through any agency (including a
contractor) with or without the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not,
in any ship recycling, or in cleaning any part of the machinery or premises used for ship recycling, or
in any other kind of work incidental to, or connected with, the ship recycling, or the subject of the
ship recycling but does not include any member of the armed forces of the Union.
(2) The words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the––
(i) Explosives Act, 1884 (4 of 1884);
(ii) Inland Vessels Act, 1917 (1 of 1917;
(iii) Petroleum Act, 1934 (30 of 1934);
(iv) Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948);
(v) Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958);
(vi) Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962);
(vii) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972);
(viii) Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (6 of 1974);
(ix) Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones
Act, 1976 (80 of 1976);
(x) Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980);
(xi) Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (14 of 1981);
(xii) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986),
shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.