Turkey’s largest shiprecycler, Leyal Group, is optimistic about joining the European Union’s list of approved demolition yards but concedes the matter is political as well as technical.

The European Commission conducted a five-day physical audit in June of Leyal’s two facilities near the city of Aliaga on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

If approved, they could be among the first outside the EU to be included on the approved list that currently comprises 21 yards.