Worn-out ships are still being scrapped on a large-scale on beaches in Southeast Asia under poor conditions, says Brussels-based NGO Shipbreaking Platform in its annual report 2013.

According to the NGO, no less than 1,213 large commercial vessels in the dry bulk, container, tanker and passenger segments were scrapped last year, and 645 of these - corresponding to 53 percent - were scrapped on the beaches of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, the global percentage of ships that end their lives on the beaches has gone down compared to the 68 percent registered in 2012, says the NGO, though 71 percent of all tonnage scrapped in 2013 took place in Southeast Asia.