BREAKING yards worldwide are rising to the challenge of sustainable ship recycling in response to stringent new EU regulations but third-party supervision is still needed to ensure compliance of these rules, according to eco consultancy Sea Sentinels.

"Environmental, social and governance principles are now seen as vital to a vessel owner's equity story as the maritime and offshore industries face mounting pressure from clients, investors, financiers and the public to ensure vessels are recycled in a safe, green and responsible manner," said the Sea Sentinels press release.

"These industries must also relate to a plethora of regulations that have emerged in recent years to stamp out scandalous scrapping practices - including the use of child labour and release of hazardous materials - that have led to serious accidents involving fatalities at unregulated yards," it said.

The UN's International Maritime Organization's 2009 Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships was preceded by various rules issued under the aegis of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Basel. More recently, there has been the European Union Ship Recycling Regulation (EUSRR) and Basel Ban.

The latter regulations require EU-flagged vessels to be recycled at one of the current 41 yards on a list of approved recycling facilities worldwide and Sea Sentinels is now .