The Asian Shipowners Association (ASA) has rejected proposals made by European Commission to introduce payments for EU ship recycling licences. The European Commission is considering introducing a levy on all ships entering EU ports in the hope of improving related working and environmental conditions in developing countries. The proposed levy would be returned at the end-of-life stage when a ship has been recycled at a yard approved by the European Commission. But the ASA argues that this concept is ‘neither realistic nor practical’ given the periods of time potentially involved and the fact that a vessel’s ownership could change.