When a ship is sent to
die, 95 per cent of its components live on. But the safety and sustainability
record of ship recycling yards could be improved. MARITIME IMPACT explains how
EU regulations aim to achieve this.
Every year up to 1,500
ships are recycled to rejuvenate the world leet and reclaim valuable materials
such as steel, aluminium and copper. The majority of these vessels are recycled
in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Turkey.
Conditions at
shipbreaking yards vary. Personal protection equipment such as helmets, shoes,
gloves and masks is not always available. Hazardous materials, from heavy
metals to fuel oil, may leak into the sea and soil, polluting the area and
creating serious health hazards.
Radical changes: Past
efforts to regulate the handling and disposal of hazardous materials (Basel
Convention 1989) and to improve safety and environmental standards in ship
recycling (Hong Kong Convention 2009) have failed to produce any tangible
results.
“Progress has been
very slow. But the implementation of the European Ship Recycling Regulation
will bring about some radical changes over the next few years. It applies to
roughly 60,000 ships, about two-thirds of the global leet,” says Gerhard
Aulbert, Global Head of Practice Ship Recycling at DNV GL.
The European Ship
Recycling Regulation, in force since 30 December 2013, addresses the
environmental and health issues associated with ship recycling while avoiding
unnecessary economic burdens. Applicable to all EU-lagged vessels as well as
non-EU-lagged ships calling at or anchoring in ports within the European Union,
it accelerates implementation of the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention
and sets out responsibilities for shipowners and recycling facilities both
within the EU and in other countries.
One of the
cornerstones of the regulation is the socalled inventory of hazardous materials
(IHM). Every EU-lagged newbuild has to carry an inventory of all hazardous
materials contained in its structure and equipment plus a statement of
compliance, at the earliest by 31 December 2015 and at the latest by 31 December
2018.
If the ship is to be
recycled the IHM should be on board from the date when the European list of
ship recycling facilities is published, which is expected to happen by the end
of 2016.
Before a ship is
recycled, its owner must provide the recycling yard with ship-speciic
information and prepare a recycling plan. But Thomas Nigl, who investigated IHM
standards in his master’s thesis at DNV GL, cautions: “While IHMs are an
important step towards establishing safer and more environmentally friendly
ship recycling methods, much needs to be improved in terms of procedures.
Methodology discrepancies in the development of IHMs for newly built versus
existing ships have led to considerable differences in the quantities of
‘HazMats’ identiied on board.”
Too much is left to
the discretion of the individual HazMat expert, he points out. “The industry
needs deinitions and documentation for the development of IHMs and the
materials themselves. Standards and an effective control mechanism for material
declaration in the supply chain would also be desirable toensure that IHMs are
effective.”
Getting approval for
shipbreaking: A new benchmarking system
established by the EU regulation restricts recycling to facilities approved by
the European Union. “Methods such as beaching will most likely be banned, and
recycling facilities will have to obtain EU approval to compete for
European-lagged vessels,” explains Gerhard Aulbert.
Waste disposal
management, facility infrastructure, safety procedures and training are key
criteria for approval.
To reduce pollution
from leakage, recycling facilities need to dismantle vessels on paved surfaces
and install drainage systems. This could prove to be a challenge in places such
as Alang, India, where more than half of the world’s decommissioned ships are
scrapped. High tides and a naturally sloping beach make it easy to haul ships
onto the shore and carry out pre-cleaning and block breaking in shallow water.
“These kinds of
practices cannot continue. I expect the number of recycling yards to decrease
because beaching will not prevail in the long run,” explains Aulbert. Some ship
recyclers have already upgraded their facilities to achieve compliance with the
EU regulation and gain competitive advantage.
“But many facilities
still violate the Basel Convention standards for disposal of hazardous
materials and have a long way to go.”
Several owners are
taking steps towards improved sustainability. “Hapag-Lloyd is one of the
companies that are developing IHMs for their newbuilds. But to date, only ten
per cent of ships recycled have an IHM on board,” Aulbert points out.
Based on studies DNV
GL conducted on smaller ship recycling facilities in Turkey, more sustainable
practices are expected to increase the costs of ship recycling by about 17
euros per light displacement ton (LDT).
DNV GL expects the IHM
development to open up the avenue for shortening the value chain of ship
recycling, as the inventory also includes a ship’s valuable parts – resulting
in additional revenue forshipowners.
For example, the EU
regulation allows shipowners to have a vessel recycled by one facility, but
sell their steel globally “giving owners more independence from recycling
facilities regarding the proit from the ship,” says Aulbert. “Using the list of
EU-vetted facilities, shipowners will also have a better basis for deciding
which recycling yard to use and can ensure that their vessels are scrapped in a
sustainable way.”
Source: businessday online.
1 January 2016
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