30 June 2014

Belgium backs rapid entry into force of HK Convention on ship recycling:

The Belgium authorities have called for the rapid entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling following the three-week detention of the vessel Global Spirit in the port of Antwerp.

The vessel was released on 26 June after being held for three weeks over issues of non-compliance with the EU Waste Shipment Regulation and the shipowner’s plan to export the vessel to a non-OECD country for scrapping. The ship has since obtained approved notification has been allowed to sail to a recycling yard in Turkey.

“The Belgian authorities want to stress the importance of the rapid entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention which is better adapted to the needs and concerns of the shipping industry, as also the European Ship Recycling Regulation will not provide a solution for ships flying the flag of a third country when going for recycling,” the Flemish government said in statement.

“Belgium will thereto speed up its accession process to the Hong Kong Convention, which they believe is the best guarantee and the only way forward for sustainable ship recycling, within and outside the OECD.”

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said it “greatly welcomes” the emphasis now being given by the Belgian authorities on the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention.

The Hong Kong Convention was adopted in 2009 but to-date has only been ratified by a single state.

Environmental and safety standards in ship recycling are a long running issue and just this weekend five workers were killed in blast at a shipbreaking yard in Alang, India.

Source: seatrade-global. 30 June 2014

29 June 2014

Gas leakage triggers blast at Alang ship breaking yard, 5 killed

Five people were killed after a suspected gas leakage triggered a blast at Alang ship breaking yard in Gujarat on Saturday.

According to initial reports, around seven people were injured in the mishap that took place around 10:30am while a ship was being dismantled.

The incident sent a shock wave across the nation, coming just a day after a gas leakage and blast in a pipeline of state-owned GAIL claimed 16 lives in Andhra Pradesh.

Alang, which is in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, is Asia's largest ship dismantling yard where approximately 250 ships are dismantled every year. The ship breaking process uses gas.

"Five persons were killed while seven others sustained injuries after a fire broke out following a blast in the ship which was being dismantled in plot number 140 at the yard," PTI quoted sub-inspector KJ Rathod, posted at Marine Police Station (Alang), as saying.

Prima facie, the blast occurred due to sudden gas leakage when ship-breaking activity was in progress, the officer said.

The exact reason behind the explosion was yet to be ascertained, Rathod told the news agency.

Source: Hindustan times. 28 June 2014

ICS Supports Vessel's Release in Antwerp:

The release of the car carrier Global Spirit, previously detained for three weeks by Belgian environmental authorities in the port of Antwerp, has been welcomed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

The vessel had been detained for alleged noncompliance with the European Union Waste

Shipment Regulation, originally scheduled for recycling in a non-OECD country. ICS claims that the detention was inappropriate, and that this EU Regulation was never intended for international shipping or to ships which are scheduled to be recycled.  However, ICS is pleased that the local authorities have come to an understanding with the ship owner.

ICS also greatly welcomes the emphasis now being given by the Belgian authorities to the importance of the rapid entry into force of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling and its commitment to speed up Belgium’s ratification of this important Convention.
ICS fully agrees with the Belgian authorities that the entry into force of the IMO Convention ‘is the best guarantee and the only way forward for sustainable ship recycling’ throughout the global shipping industry.

ICS reiterates the following points, which were communicated by ICS to the Flemish Ministry of the Environment when the ship was still detained:

The EU European Waste Shipment Regulation, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes (on which the EU Regulation is based) were never intended for application to international shipping or to ships which are scheduled to be recycled. This important point has been repeatedly recognized during discussions that have taken place since the Basel Convention was adopted.

The international regime pertinent to international shipping is the IMO Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. While this instrument has not yet entered into force, it is fully supported by the international shipping industry. It also provides a more relevant basis for determining whether a shipping company is meeting its responsibilities to ensure that redundant ships are indeed being recycled in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner.

All IMO Member States are therefore encouraged to work towards the ratification of the IMO Hong Kong Convention as soon as possible.

The international shipping industry is fully committed to the safe and environmentally friendly recycling of redundant ships. This is demonstrated by the development by the industry of Guidelines on Transitional Measures for Shipowners Selling Ships for Recycling, which sets out the two measures that shipowners might reasonably undertake in order to adhere to the spirit of the IMO Hong Kong Convention in advance of its entry into force.

Source: marine link. 27 June 2014

5 killed after explosion at Alang shipyard:

The incident took place on Saturday morning when the workers were breaking a ship on plot number 140

Five workers were killed and two others injured following an explosion caused by gas leakage at the Alang ship recycling yard in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.

The incident took place on Saturday morning when the workers were breaking a ship on plot number 140 of the Alang recycling yard.

“Five people have died following the explosion in Alang,” confirmed Bhavnagar collector P K Solanki. He said two persons injured in the incident had been admitted at the Bhavnagar civil hospital for treatment. Solanki said prima facie the reason for the explosion appeared to be gas leakage.

A full-fledged inquiry by the district and labour officials would reveal the exact cause, he said.

Police Sub-Inspector K J Rathod of Marine Police Station, Alang, said forensic officials were on the spot for carrying out further investigation. The cause will be clear only after forensic reports come, he added.

Alang police officials said that of the five dead, two were burnt to death on the spot while three succumbed to their injuries later.

Source: business standard. 29 June 2014
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/5-killed-after-explosion-at-alang-shipyard-114062800305_1.html

28 June 2014

Ship Breaking: Action or Talk?


Belgian authorities have released the Japanese owned car-carrier that has been sitting in detention at the port of Antwerp for nearly a month. After having been alerted by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a coalition of environmental, human rights and labor organizations, that the ship had been sold for scrapping in India, the Flemish Environment Ministry seized the end-of-life car carrier Global Spirit. The ship was allowed to leave the port of Antwerp for recycling in Turkey, a destination allowed under European waste law.

“We applaud Belgium for having stopped the Japanese ship from sailing to Alang, India, where the vessel would have been broken under very hazardous conditions, an export which would have been illegal under European law,” said Ingvild Jenssen, policy advisor of the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking. “On the shipbreaking beaches of Alang labor rights are poorly respected and pollution laws are weak or not enforced. The conditions we see in India would never be allowed in Europe or in Japan.”

According to the European Union Waste Shipment Regulation, only if all hazardous materials, such as asbestos, residue oils and toxic paints, are removed from the Global Spirit can it be allowed to be exported to South Asia. The regulation was designed to prevent the environmental injustice caused when rich countries export their toxic wastes to impoverished countries that lack the technology and infrastructure to manage such wastes.

Jenssen says that the charterers of the Global Spirit, Höegh Autoliners, have already adopted a sustainable ship recycling policy for their ships requiring them to be broken ‘off the beach’. More and more progressive shipowners are refusing to sell their end-of-life ships to substandard beach breaking yards and the new EU Ship Recycling Regulation has set a clear standard for safer and greener practices that effectively rules out the beaching practice, she says.

However, many in the shipping industry feel the EU regulations are inappropriate for shipping. The release of the vessel was welcomed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the global trade association for shipowners. ICS maintains that the detention was inappropriate, and that this EU Regulation was never intended for application to international shipping or to ships which are scheduled to be recycled.  However, ICS is pleased that the local authorities have come to an understanding with the shipowner.

ICS also greatly welcomes the emphasis now being given by the Belgian authorities to the importance of the rapid entry into force of the IMO Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling and its commitment to speed up Belgium's ratification of this important convention. ICS fully agrees with the Belgian authorities that the entry into force of the IMO convention 'is the best guarantee and the only way forward for sustainable ship recycling' throughout the global shipping industry.

ICS reiterates the following points, which were communicated by ICS to the Flemish Ministry of the Environment when the ship was still detained:

The EU European Waste Shipment Regulation, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes (on which the EU Regulation is based) were never intended for application to international shipping or to ships which are scheduled to be recycled. This important point has been repeatedly recognized during discussions that have taken place since the Basel Convention was adopted.

The relevant international regime which is applicable to international shipping is the IMO Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. While this instrument has not yet entered into force, it is fully supported by the international shipping industry. It also provides a sounder and far more relevant basis for determining whether a shipping company is meeting its responsibilities to ensure that redundant ships are indeed being recycled in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner. All IMO Member states are therefore encouraged to work towards the ratification of the IMO Hong Kong Convention as soon as possible.

The international shipping industry is fully committed to the safe and environmentally sound recycling of redundant ships. This is demonstrated by the development by the industry of Guidelines on Transitional Measures for Shipowners Selling Ships for Recycling, which sets out the measures that shipowners might reasonably undertake in order to adhere to the spirit of the IMO Hong Kong Convention in advance of its entry into force.

As of June 25, 2014, only Norway and Congo have granted accession to the convention which was adopted in 2009.

Source: maritime-executive. 27 June 2014
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Ship-Breaking-Action-or-Talk-2014-06-27

27 June 2014

Press Release – Toxic Ship Sent for Sustainable Recycling after Belgium Stopped Illegal Export


NGOs call on the Japanese owners to adopt a sustainable ship recycling policy for entire fleet

Brussels, 27 June 2014 – Belgian authorities released today the Japanese owned car-carrier that has been sitting in detention at the port of Antwerp for nearly a month. After having been alerted by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a coalition of environmental, human rights and labour organisations, that the ship had been sold for scrapping in India [1], the Flemish Environment Ministry seized the end-of-life car carrier Global Spirit. The ship was today allowed to leave the port of Antwerp for recycling in Turkey, a destination allowed under European waste law [2].

“We applaud Belgium for having stopped the Japanese ship from sailing to Alang, India, where the vessel would have been broken under very hazardous conditions, an export which would have been illegal under European law,” said Ingvild Jenssen, Policy Advisor of the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking.  “On the shipbreaking beaches of Alang labour rights are poorly respected and pollution laws are weak or not enforced. The conditions we see in India would never be allowed in Europe or in Japan.”

According to the European Union Waste Shipment Regulation, only if all hazardous materials, such as asbestos, residue oils and  toxic paints, are removed from the Global Spirit can it be allowed to be exported to South Asia. The Regulation was designed to prevent the environmental injustice caused when rich countries export their toxic wastes to impoverished countries that lack the technology and infrastructure to manage such wastes.

“We now call on the Japanese owners of the ship, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Limited (MOL) and Nissan Car Carriers (NCC), to find a sustainable solution for their entire fleet, not only the Global Spirit for which they have been caught red-handed, and adopt a company policy on ship recycling that will ensure the safe and green recycling of all their ships off the beach,” said Ingvild Jenssen.

Last year the Japanese ship owner MOL sold six end-of-life ships to South Asian shipbreakers [3], prioritising the highest price for the ships and ignoring the harm done to workers, local communities and the environment. The charterers of the Global Spirit, Höegh Autoliners, who are also 20 percent shareholders in NCC, have already adopted a sustainable ship recycling policy for their ships requiring them to be broken ‘off the beach’. More and more progressive ship owners are refusing to sell their end-of-life ships to substandard beach breaking yards and the new EU Ship Recycling Regulation has set a clear standard for safer and greener practices that effectively rules out the beaching practice [4].

“Also under the new EU Ship Recycling Regulation the beach breaking yards of India will not be accepted as the scrapping destination for European flagged ships. This is a clear signal to ship owners that it is high time they shift from substandard breaking to modern and sustainable recycling of their vessels,” said Ingvild Jenssen.

CONTACT
Ingvild Jenssen
ingvild@shipbreakingplatform.org
+32 (0)2 6094 420

NOTES
[1] See NGO Shipbreaking Platform press release Belgium Called Upon to Halt Export of Toxic Ship – 4 June 2014

[2] In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan ships are dismantled on tidal beaches whose soft sands cannot support crucial safety measures such as heavy lifting or emergency response equipment and which allow pollution to seep directly into the delicate coastal zone environment.  No country in the developed world allows ships to be broken on their beaches. While shipbreaking can be done in a safe and clean way with proper technologies and infrastructure, most ship-owners choose to sell their ships for significantly greater profit to substandard yards operating in countries without adequate resources to provide safeguards and infrastructure to manage the hazardous materials found within the ships’ structure.  On the South Asian shipbreaking beaches, vulnerable migrant workers, many of them children, break apart massive and toxic ships by hand, often without shoes, gloves, hard hats or masks to protect their lungs from asbestos, and poison fumes. The International Labour Organization (ILO) considers shipbreaking on beaches to be among the world’s most dangerous jobs.

[3] In 2013 Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Limited (MOL) sold six ships for dismantling on the beaches of South Asia:

1996 built wood chip carrier Daio Robin (IMO 9136905) sold to Alang breakers, India
1991 built wood chip carrier Ryu Yoh (IMO 8921444) sold to Alang breakers, India
1986 built roro Cosmos Venture (IMO 8600143) sold to Alang breakers, India
1988 built roro Solar Wing (IMO 8708244) sold to Alang breakers, India
1999 built tanker Diamond Jasmine (IMO 9177143) sold to Alang breakers, India
1994 built bulker Rubin (IMO 9064114) sold to Chittagong breakers, Bangladesh
[4] The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has actively contributed to the legislative process which in June 2013 ended with an agreed text for a new EU Regulation on Ship Recycling. The Regulation entered into force 30 December 2013 and is expected to be applicable within five years. The new rules will demand the use of Inventories of Hazardous Materials for ships and has made clear that the beaching method is considered neither safe nor environmentally sound. Ships registered under the flag of an EU Member State will further only be allowed to be dismantled in facilities that meet the requirements set out in the Regulation – the European Commission will list these facilities. Currently, the necessity of introducing a financial incentive to make sure that ship owners do not simply flag out to a non-EU flag prior to selling the vessel for dismantling in an attempt to circumvent the new EU law in being explored.

Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform. 27 June 2014

Detained Car Carrier Heads for Turkish Shipbreaker:

The 47,500 gross ton car carrier Global Spirit, detained on 5th of June 2014 at the port of Antwerp, has been released by the Belgian environmental authorities. After discussions, the vessel has been allowed to proceed on its voyage to an approved ship recycling yard in Turkey. Here the vessel will be recycled.

The Belgian authorities have stressed the importance of the rapid entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention which is better adapted to the needs and concerns of the shipping industry that the local relevant regulations and notes that the European Ship Recycling Regulation will not provide a solution for ships flying the flag of a third country when going for recycling.

Belgium will thereto speed up its accession process to the Hong Kong Convention, which it believe is the best guarantee and the only way forward for sustainable ship recycling, within and outside the OECD. Within this framework, Belgium urges a full investigation into how workers and the environment can be adequately protected during the ship recycling process, regardless the technique used.

It is also the responsibility of the European Commission and the Member States to support and assist ship recycling facilities in third countries who are truly undertaking meaningful efforts, says the Belgian authorities. That way not only can all sustainable recycling facilities can distinguish themselves and be rewarded for the efforts taken, but it also provides hope for those facilities that still have a longer way to go.

According to the European Union Waste Shipment Regulation, only if all hazardous materials, such as asbestos, residue oils and toxic paints, are removed from the Global Spirit could it be allowed to be exported to South Asia, says NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

The NGO had alerted the Belgian authorities of the vessel’s proposed movements after it had been reported that the Global Spirit was sold to the shipbreaking beaches in India. It says that at least six workers have died at Indian Shipbreaking yards so far this year and many more have been taken ill by occupational disease due to ship-borne hazardous substances like asbestos and PCBs.


Source: maritime-executive. 26 June 2014

26 June 2014

PLATFORM NEWS – NGO SHIPBREAKING PLATFORM PRESENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2013:



Brussels, 20 June 2014 – The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of environmental, human rights and labour rights organisations working to promote safe and clean ship recycling worldwide, presents its Annual Report 2013.

You are invited to find out more in our report including:

- a summary of the Platform’s findings about global shipbreaking trends in 2013, statistics on the total number of ships dismantled in 2013, when 71% of the global tonnage were dismantled in South Asia, and 64% of the end-of-life ships broken in South Asia were owned by shipping companies based in the EU;

- our activities and campaigns in 2013: the Platform’s Annual General Meeting in Pakistan and a field visit to the shipbreaking yards, our exposure visit to ship recycling facilities in China together with South Asian members of the Platform; and

- a presentation of our new member organisation, CRoLI based in Islamabad, Pakistan, and of our three new board members, former MEP Robert Evans, Environmental Sciences Professor Irfan Khan, and Greenpeace India campaigner Ramapati Kumar.

Download the Platform’s Annual Report 2013 or send us an email if you prefer to order a hard copy.

CONTACT
Delphine Reuter
Communication Officer
NGO Shipbreaking Platform

Source:

GMS weekly report on Bangladesh ship breaking industry for WEEK 25 of 2014:

The situation in Bangladesh remains unchanged since the announcement of the budget whereby increased taxes and duties on new units and on bunkers kept many end buyers on the sidelines.

Keeping local appetite further in check has been the slew of pre budget purchases (and deliveries) that has kept the local yards relatively busy during the downpours.

As such, Bangladesh has been a silent spectator to ongoing negotiations, except when vessels discharging in the area are being negotiated specifically basis a Chittagong delivery.

Case and point, the sale of TBS controlled ROCKAWAY BELLE that was committed to Chittagong at an exceptional (excess) USD 470 per LT LDT. The 275 Tons of guaranteed bunkers remaining onboard at the time of physical delivery along with American ownership helped push the price up to spectacular territory this week.

Source: steel guru. 25 June 2014

GMS weekly report on Indian ship breaking industry for WEEK 25 of 2014:

The Indian market, despite facing strong downward pressures (thanks to the monsoon season and the weakening Indian Rupee) provided a surprising run (in terms of local sales) this week. A total of 6 (market) ships were concluded into India this week and nearly all of them appear to have been concluded at the top of (or even higher than) what the local market is likely willing to pay at present.

Taking in the highest numbers of the week was chemical tanker THERESA MARS, with 502 tonnes of stainless steel onboard; the vessel reportedly fetched a whopping USD 720 per tonne.

Next in line were the reefers BALTIC NAVIGATOR and BALTIC NOVEL, reportedly taking in region USD 500/LT each. The 72 tons of aluminum onboard helping the vessels attain the aggressive price on show.

Trailing the end of the sales chart were container MSC JADE and MPP DANNY ROSE at USD 485 per LT respectively, and LPG GAZ PIONEER (with spare propeller blades) bringing in USD 480 per LT basis as is Fujairah.

Given the levels at which sales are being concluded, it is evident that cash buyers continue to take punts on (a weakening) market and are offering prices that appear to be beyond breakeven levels from local offerings. Considering the prevailing market conditions, it is perhaps a gamble on part of the owners as well at taking a bite of the speculative priced pie.

Source: steel guru. 25 June 2014

Oxford Instruments India launches a new handheld scrap metal sorter called mPulse

mPulse is based on a new revolutionary technique called Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Collaborating with Jamnagar Factory Owners Association and Ship Recycling Association of India, Oxford Instruments organised seminars on 8th and 9th June 2014 in Jamnagar and Bhavnagar respectively, to reach out and engage the metals and metal scrap market in Gujarat. With over 150 attendees, these seminars and hands-on demonstration sessions provided a platform to offer customers in the industry an extended range of metal analysers to suit every requirement. The addition of the exciting new mPulse handheld analyser to the product range opens up new markets and truly makes Oxford Instruments the first choice in metals analysis with its innovative and unique metals analysis technique.

Today's recycling markets rely on speed to maximise throughput and profits, sorting and trading incoming and high value materials fast. Through its ground breaking use of LIBS, or Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, the mPulse is able to identify and sort metals in just 1 second. This is a huge benefit to businesses that have high volumes of metal to process. The mPulse is super fast, simple to use and no X-rays ensuring maximum productivity.

Oxford Instruments plc had recently acquired RMG Technology Ltd. and RMG's path-breaking LIBS system has added to the existing techniques of X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) to offer an extended range of metal analysers to suit every requirement. This underlines our determination to build on and strengthen our offering to customers requiring simply the best metals analysis solutions without compromise and supports our strategy to become the First Choice in Metals analysis. If fast and accurate metal analysis is your priority, please call us today to find out more.

Source: equity bulls. 19 June 2014

USS Constellation Aircraft Carrier Will be Scrapped In Texas for $3 Million:

Ronald Reagan once called it "America's Flagship," and now the U.S.S. Constellation Aircraft Carrier has been sold to a scrap company.

As weather.com's Matt Sampson explains in the video above, the Constellation was commissioned in 1961 and served in battles from Vietnam to Afghanistan.

The aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 2003 and has been at a facility in Washington State ever since.

The Kitsap Sun reports the ship will be towed this summer from the Pacific Northwest to International Shipbreaking Limited (ISL) in Brownsville, Texas, where the private company will scrap the long-serving ship.

The Navy will pay ISL $3 million, plus the proceeds from recycling, according to the Associated Press.

Source: weather.com. 25 June 2014

24 June 2014

Work begins on scrapping historic North Vancouver ship's stern:

Welders have begun sinking their torches into the Flamborough Head, an iconic piece of North Vancouver’s wartime history, say heritage advocates who are still waiting to see part of the ship preserved as a permanent monument.

City councillors voted months ago to scrap the last remaining “Victory Ship” built at Burrard Dry Dock during the Second World War, but Peter Miller, the president of the North Shore Heritage Preservation Society, said the city is staying mum on what it plans to spare from the scrapyard.

The relic was once intended to be part of a proposed National Maritime Centre on the North Van waterfront, but that project faded after the economic recession in 2008. Despite a fight to save the stern - all that now remains of the Flamborough Head - councillors determined salvaging the ship was too expensive.

“When we lost the fight to keep the thing, we were promised that a section of it would be kept as a permanent monument at the site and we see no indication of any particular piece being kept,” said Miller.

He said he had envisioned a section of the stern, the propellor and the deck housing being saved so the Flamborough Head would still be somewhat recognizable in the monument.

City staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.

A fact sheet from the society said that North Van shipyards built most of the 255 Victory Ships that were made in British Columbia during the Second World War. The Victory Ships were built to replace Allied ships sunk by German submarines during the Second World War.

The Flamborough Head was launched from Burrard Dry Dock May 2, 1944, and used as a maintenance ship by the British Navy. It was later sold back to the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed the Cape Breton. It was 135 metres long, had a speed of 11 knots (20 kph) and a crew of 445.

Source: vancouver sun. 20 June 2014.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Work+begins+scrapping+historic+North+Vancouver+ship+stern/9960821/story.html

18 June 2014

Aircraft carrier to be scrapped:

Navy sells USS Constellation for $3 million

Yet another decommissioned “supercarrier” is coming to the Port of Brownsville for scrapping, and it’s the biggest one yet.

In fact, the dismantling of the former aircraft carrier USS Constellation by International Shipbreaking Ltd. will be the largest ship-recycling job to take place in the United States.

Until the Constellation contract, the former USS Forrestal and the former USS Saratoga were the largest ships slated for salvaging by a U.S. ship breaker. The Forrestal arrived in Brownsville to much fanfare in February after being towed from Philadelphia, and is now being dismantled by All Star Metals.

The Saratoga, decommissioned in 1994, is expected to depart under tow from Naval Air Station at Newport, Rhode Island, this summer and will be recycled by ESCO Marine at the Port of Brownsville.

Construction began on the Constellation, the second of the Kitty Hawk-class of carriers, in 1957 at New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn. It was commissioned in October 1961. The vessel was decommissioned in August 2003 at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, then towed to the inactive ship facility at Bremerton, Wash.

International Shipbreaking is expected to begin towing the 62,000-ton carrier — nicknamed “Connie” — from Washington in late summer.

Unlike the Navy’s contracts for the Forrestal and the Saratoga, in which each ship breaker received the symbolic sum of $0.01, the Navy is paying International Shipbreakers $3 million to take apart the Constellation.

Robert Berry, vice president of the company, said that’s because the towing distance is much longer — all the way down around the Horn of South America and up the other side — compared to the other two carriers.

Berry said the trip would take 110 to 125 days and guessed that the Constellation could dock in Brownsville sometime in December. In contrast, the Forrestal took only two weeks to get here from Philadelphia.

Berry said the company had just won the contract and was preparing to visit the ship soon to determine what will be required in terms of rigging and other matters related to towing.

“We’ll probably have some information to release as we get moving here,” Berry said.

The Constellation job will take roughly two years to complete, he said, while declining to estimate how much money the company expects to make from the salvaged metal. The steel salvaged from the ship may go to mills in Texas, Mexico or elsewhere around the world, depending on demand, he said.
“We don’t know,” Berry said. “The market changes month to month.”

The recent spike in large vessels coming to the port for dismantling has led, naturally, to a boost in hiring of workers good with a cutting torch. Fortunately, such people aren’t hard to come by in Brownsville, Berry said.

“There are quite a few experienced people,” he said. “We’ve been doing this in the area since the mid- to late ‘60s. A lot of people have gotten experience at it over the years.”

Berry said the Navy prefers to work with more than one recycling company, which is why it has contracts with three ship breakers at the port. And with plenty of other decommissioned carriers awaiting the scrapper’s torch, the sight of rusty, fading giants gliding down the Brownsville Ship Channel on the last leg of their final voyage could become increasingly common.

Now that initial recycling contracts have been awarded to each of the three ship breakers, the Navy said it’s in a position to award additional contracts for scrapping non-nuclear-powered carriers over a five-year period, with All Star, ESCO and International Shipbreaking competing against each other for the work.

After the Constellation is dismantled, the Navy will have four conventionally powered carriers left: the Kitty Hawk, the Independence and the Ranger, all at Bremerton; and the John F. Kennedy, moored in Philadelphia.

While the Kitty Hawk is being kept in reserve and the John F. Kennedy available for donation as a museum/memorial, the Independence and the Ranger are designated for scrapping.

“They’ll be more carriers coming,” Berry said.

Still, even if they do become a more common sight in Brownsville, he thinks their arrival will continue to be a pretty big deal — filled with history and loved by their former crews as they are.
“These carriers are pretty special,” Berry said.

Source: Brownsville Herald. 17 June 2014

GMS weekly report on China ship breaking industry for WEEK 24 of 2014:

As the sub continent markets cooled, Chinese buyers began to acquire one or two more units despite the continually weak market and prevailing levels for all types of vessels still in the low USD 300s per LT LDT.

The gap between a sub-continent and a China delivery still stands at USD 150 per LT LDT, but local demo yards have remained active thanks to the government subsidies that have seen a whole host of vessels of all sizes and types (from state run owners) fill local yards.

Other South East Asian scrap yards in Vietnam, Indonesia, and even the Philippines have also been active in diverting international (non Chinese flagged) tonnage away from Chinese yards at similar levels if owners choose to ignore the higher numbers in the sub continent, even for smaller general cargo units.

Source: steel guru. 17 June 2014

Ex-supercarrier Constellation headed to scrapyard:

The retired aircraft carrier Constellation will take its final cruise this summer, from the Pacific Northwest to Texas for dismantling, the Navy announced Friday.

The Navy awarded a $3 million contract to International Shipbreaking, according to a news release, for the cost of towing the ship that served the Navy for four decades.

The Constellation is the third of the Navy’s conventionally powered aircraft carriers to head for the scrapyard this year. The Forrestal and Saratoga also were sold to shipbreaking companies based in Brownsville, Texas. However, those contracts totaled 1 cent each.

“The $3 million will help cover the cost of towing Constellation, since the ship has to go around South America,” Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Chris Johnson told Navy Times. “The other two ships have a relatively straight shot down the East Coast.”

Constellation is expected to make the trip from its home at Naval Base Kitsap, Washington, to the Gulf of Mexico in the next few months, the release said.

“Connie,” as her crew called her, was the second in the Kitty Hawk class of carriers, christened in October 1960. A fire in December of that year killed 50 workers and caused $75 million in damages, delaying the carrier’s commissioning until October 1961, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.

The Constellation measured 1,047 feet long by 248 feet wide and could travel at more than 33 knots.

Through nearly 42 years of service, Connie deployed to support combat missions in conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan before its decommissioning in August 2003 at Naval Station North Island, California.

Source: navy times. 17 June 2014