ShipScout

From old ships to new steel.

A digital ship recycling broker, run by AI agents.

We connect shipowners with certified breaking yards (HKC and EU-listed only) and handle the deal from start to finish.

No IMO at hand? Talk to ShipScout

Founded by seafarers and ship recycling brokers in Aliağa, Türkiye, one of the world's main recycling hubs.

ShipScout agentExample
  1. Find… vessels scanned, 1 candidatedone
  2. MatchHKC-certified yard in Alang, Indiadone
  3. OfferYard price sent to the ownerdone
  4. ClosePayment in escrow until the last voyagenext

First deal closed

$4.0M

An end-of-life vessel sold for recycling through ShipScout.

First buy-side client

GECOM USA

We advised GECOM USA on a vessel purchase.

How our agents workLive numbers from the latest run

Last run time unavailable

  1. Scan
    —
    vessels tracked
  2. 02Signal
    —
    with end-of-life signals
  3. 03Score
    —
    score 50 or higher
  4. 04Match
    —
    within 1,000 nm of a yard region
  5. 05Contact
    —
    Tracking soon
  6. 06Deal
    —
HKC-authorized yards on our radar100
  • Aliağa18
  • Alang45
  • Chattogram14
  • Europe16
  • Japan7

Source: IMO GISIS

How it works

Our AI agents do the searching and matching. We inspect, contract and close.

  1. 01 · Find

    We find the ship.

    Our AI agents track … vessels and pick out ships likely to be scrapped. The list refreshes every 12 hours.

    … vessels tracked

  2. 02 · Match

    We match the yard.

    The agents find the best breaking yard near the ship’s location.

    HKC and EU-listed yards only

  3. 03 · Offer

    We make the offer.

    The owner gets a direct price from the yard. After the pre-inspection, we give the final offer.

    Direct price from the yard

  4. 04 · Close

    We close the deal.

    We run the final inspection and handle the contract and documents. Payment is held in escrow with our maritime law partner until the ship completes its last voyage.

    Escrow until the last voyage

No upfront fees. ShipScout charges a 2% commission, only when the deal closes.

Selling a ship for recycling is harder than it should be.

  • Prices are opaque

    Scrap prices move every week and differ by yard and region. An owner rarely sees more than one or two offers, so it is hard to know what a fair price is.

  • Too many middlemen

    A sale often passes through several brokers and cash buyers before it reaches a yard. Each link takes a margin and adds time.

  • Compliance and reputation risk

    The owner stays accountable for where and how the ship is recycled. A sale to the wrong yard can mean fines, detention of the last voyage and damage to the company's name.

The first offer is rarely the best one.

We had 15,000 tons of steel at anchor, idle, losing money every day. We had to sell.

The first broker offered $230 per light ton. We had no way to know if it was fair.

  1. $230The first brokerDeclined
  2. $240After we pushed backDeclined
  3. $250A second broker, with buyers we never metDeclined
  4. $260A direct call to the yard's commercial teamDeclined
  5. $285The yard owner, through a personal relationshipAccepted

Left on the table at the first offer$825,000

ShipScout exists so the next owner starts at the right yard.

ShipScout exists so the next owner starts at the right yard.

Why now

  • The Hong Kong Convention is in force

    Since 26 June 2025, ships flagged in signatory states must be recycled at authorised facilities, with an Inventory of Hazardous Materials and a Ready for Recycling Certificate.

    Source: IMO

  • EU-flagged ships need EU-listed yards

    The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires EU-flagged ships to be recycled only at facilities on the European List.

    Source: Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013

  • Carbon costs now fall on older ships

    Shipping entered the EU Emissions Trading System in 2024, rising from 40% of emissions to 100% from 2026. Together with IMO's CII ratings, it makes inefficient older tonnage more expensive to keep trading.

    Source: EU ETS

  • The world fleet is getting older

    More than half of the world fleet is over 15 years old, and a large wave of ships is approaching the end of its working life.

    Source: UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport 2023

Who you will be dealing with

Arda Avcıoğlu in officer's whites on a ship's bridge wing

Arda AvcıoğluCo-founder & CEO

Former 1st Officer on expedition, polar and superyacht vessels.

Ship recycling and lay-up broker in Aliağa, Türkiye.

LinkedIn

Bring capital to ship recycling deals.

Every end-of-life sale needs a buyer with cash on the day. Our agents find the ships and the certified yard; capital partners fund the purchase and share in the margin.

  • Deal flow before the marketVessels our agents flag as likely to sell, with owner, yard and price data.
  • Certified exits onlyShips go only to HKC and EU-listed yards, with a yard price in hand before you commit.
  • Checked partnersEvery partner is KYC and sanctions screened. Deal terms are agreed case by case.

Interested in investing in ShipScout itself? Write to the founders.

Talk to ShipScout

Send us the IMO number, or just tell us about the vessel, and a broker will get back to you.

ShipScoutAliağaİzmirTürkiyeinfo@shipscout.io

Match my ship

Send the IMO number and where the vessel is. Our agents match it with a certified yard, and you get a direct price from the yard.