The study examines how the shipbreaking industry functions, what considerations are made before selling a ship for scrapping, and where and how the scrapping is done. Furthermore, the study provides and overview of actions taken so far by different stakeholders that are trying to solve the problems connected with shipbreaking. The main attention is paid to the regulations governing the movement of waste and how the regulations can be applied to vessels destined for scrapping. The article also examines the IMO Draft Convention on ship recycling, which later became the The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships adopted in May 2009,