04 April 2011

ShipBreaking yard: LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd., Turkey

The Company:

LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd. is the leading ship dismantling and recycling company in Turkey. Established in early 1980s, the Company has grown to become the owner of the largest ship dismantling facilities in the country. With approximately 5 hectares of land dedicated to ship dismantling and recycling, the company is capable of directly or indirectly processing up to 100,000 tons of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals per year. LEYAL is fully licensed for its ship recycling operations by the relevant competent authorities in Turkey, namely the Ministry of Environment, the Undersecretariat of Maritime Affairs, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (in Turkey 3 ministries jointly regulate the ship recycling industry).

The Company's facilities are located near the town of Aliaga on the Aegean coast, approximately 60 Km North of the port of Izmir.

LEYAL was the first Turkish ship dismantling and recycling company to apply the European Union Notification Procedure for the Transboundary Movement of Waste (EU Regulation 259/93), in the case of the dismantling of the German Navy destroyer ex-Rommel.

  • In 2006, LEYAL was awarded the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification.
  • In 2009, LEYAL was contracted by the British Navy for the recycling of 3 Type 42 destroyers (ex-HMS Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow).
Ship dismantling and recycling:

Ship dismantling and recycling is by definition an environmentally friendly ('green') activity. The benefit to the environment from ship dismantling and recycling is twofold;

  • On one hand it removes older vessels that would otherwise be left abandoned, polluting the seas.
  • On the other hand it provides for recyclable materials and hence achieves a far better environmental performance given the production energy efficiency, the reduction in emissions from subsequent processing, and the preservation of non-renewable resources.
The increased awareness of sustainable development gives environmentally credible companies, such as LEYAL, a competitive edge.

  • LEYAL employs a combination of afloat & landing dismantling methodology, with on land cutting taking place on concrete impermeable floor with appropriate drainage and underground effluent collection.
  • Cutting is done with a combination of torch cutting (oxy-LPG) and mechanical cutting (mobile shear).
  • A wide variety of facilities are based on site, such as the Environmental Management Centre (EMC), worker accommodation quarters, infirmary, and both open-air and specialized covered storage areas.

Ship recycling operation:

  • Once LEYAL is contracted for the recycling of a vessel, and prior to the vessel's arrival, both the local authorities and the EMC are notified. Drawing from its wide knowledge base and longstanding experience, along with the information provided by the shipowner and also drawn during the vessel's pre-demolition inspection, the Company is in a position to establish a viable ship recycling plan, also addressing issues such as waste removal and disposal.
  • Upon arrival the vessel is secured at the yard and it is checked for radiation readings and gas free condition.
  • After the local authorities issue the necessary permissions, a team of certified experts identifies hazardous substances and plans their removal and disposal.
  • Following the pre-cleaning of the vessel the main dismantling operations commence.
  • The dismantling of a vessel starts from the superstructure and upper decks.
  • Heavy lift cranes remove big sections of the vessel and place them in specialized concrete-paved zones, where the secondary cutting and material separation takes place.
  • The sections are reduced to marketable sizes using a combination of cold and hot cutting methods (LEYAL is the only ship recycling company in Turkey to employ large scale mobile hydraulic shears) and categorized based on their type and composition for further recycling.
  • Once sufficient weight is removed from the upper vessel, the keel is moved to a dedicated zone, where the remainder of the vessel is dismantled also following the above procedure.
The absence of an intertidal zone (no tides in the area in contrast to the beaching of ships of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) means that there are clearly defined borders between the dry land work areas and the sea, preventing unwanted washing of debris to the sea.


Environmental Management:

  • To ensure proper planning for the treatment of hazardous materials on board a vessel, LEYAL employs a well-trained team of experts that inspects the vessels prior to the commencement of any dismantling operation. The role of this first team is to identify, mark and organize the removal of hazardous materials present on board the vessel.
  • A pre-demolition cleaning team is then utilized to contain and remove hazardous materials from onboard the vessels.
  • Depending on the nature of the waste, it is either immediately disposed of through the use of nationally certified disposal companies, or it is temporarily stored in dedicated storage areas, to be delivered to certified disposal firms at a later date.
  • All the waste management related operations are coordinated from LEYAL's newly erected Environment Management Center (EMC), and controlled by the regional office of the Ministry of Environment, both at the recycling facility level, the transporting company, and the disposal company level.
In recent years Turkey has made significant steps towards harmonizing its legislation with relevant EC Directives towards Turkey's preparations for EU membership. More specifically, and in relation to waste management, all the requirements and provisions of the Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (OJ L 377 31.12.1991) have been introduced into the Turkish national legislation related to hazardous waste management (BLHWC), except the provision related to reporting to the Commission (Art. 8 of Directive). Moreover, the full list of hazardous waste and the concentration limits laid down in 2000/532/EC have been adopted by the By-laws of Hazardous Waste Control (BLHWC), as per Annex VI and VII, including mirror entries.

Being at the forefront, In cooperation with the a prominent European Union Technical University, LEYAL is also participating in a 4-year research project sponsored by the European Union R&D Funding Program for the development of improved alternative vessel dismantling techniques and procedures, as well as environmentally sound management procedures for the removal, temporary storage and disposal of hazardous.

Source: http://www.leyal.com.tr/

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