Ship dismantling is the act of recycling ships that have lost their own functions or are difficult to operate, or dismantling ships to secure scrap metal and parts that can be sold. About 95% of the resources generated when dismantling ships are recyclable, and the durability of ships is generally calculated as 23 to 30 years.

Due to IMO ship carbon emission regulations and ship aging, the supply of ships subject to dismantlement is expected to increase. Especially MSI UK predicted the dismantling of the three major ship types (dry cargo ships, oil tankers, and container ships) at 14.6 million DWT in 22 years → 31.97 million DWT in 23 years → 80.76 million DWT in 24 years, respectively.

Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) can encourage shipbuilders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in more fuel-efficient and less emission technologies. For these reasons, Korean shipbuilders should be interested in low-carbon technologies and seek related countermeasures as soon as possible to avoid the negative impact of the carbon trade system, thereby maintaining the competitiveness and taking the lead in the Korean shipyard market.