U.S. Ship Scrapping Firm Gets EU’s Stamp of Approval

A marine recycling yard in Brownsville, Texas, is the first in North America to be added to a European Union list of approved shipbreaking operations that meet minimum environmental and worker safety standards.

All vessels bearing the flag of an EU country must be sent to a listed yard for recycling under a 2013 EU law designed to ensure that ships are broken up in facilities that meet basic standards. The requirement takes effect Dec. 31.

The Brownsville facility, run by International Shipbreaking Ltd., a subsidiary of the U.K.'s EMR Group, was added to the list ...