Report : Green Steel Insight Brief
Steel accounts for most of a ship's weight, and its production generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. Yet embodied carbon (the emissions locked into materials before a ship ever sails) remains largely absent from shipping's decarbonisation strategies. This report examines how changing the way steel is produced, used, and recycled could close that gap.
It builds on SSI's earlier work on circularity in shipping (2013 and 2021) and examines which regulatory and market conditions would need to change to make circular steel a reality at scale.
Key Insights:
Up to 150 million tonnes of ship steel could be reused by 2032, representing one of the largest untapped emissions reduction opportunities in the sector.
Properly certified reuse of marine steel could deliver up to 90% lower emissions compared to primary steel production, while generating a sixfold increase in retained value over scrapping.
Without coordinated intervention, the majority of decommissioned vessel steel will continue to be downcycled into low-grade recycling, forfeiting both environmental and economic benefits.
Advancements in classification standards, digital traceability, and material passports are critical enablers for establishing high-value secondary markets for steel.
Significance for Policy and Practice:
Climate policy: Integration of embodied carbon into maritime decarbonisation pathways is essential for achieving net-zero targets.
Market transformation: Aggregated demand from shipping, alongside cross-sector alignment with offshore energy, ports, and construction, is required to stimulate investment in reuse and certification frameworks.
Circular economy: Ships are up to 98% recyclable; unlocking reuse pathways will transform them from linear assets into sources of high-quality secondary raw materials.
