Few ship breaking yards
at Alang are heading for class certification in compliance with the Hong Kong
International Convention
The ship recycling facility to Jiangmen Zhongxin
Shipbreaking & Steel Co., Ltd in China may be the only yard at present to
have the Statement of Compliance (SOC) in the world. But in all probability few
yards based at Alang on the West coast of India where ship breaking is by the
beaching method, are vying for SOC and are likely to follow suit soon. ClassNK
which had issued the world’s first SOC to the Chinese ship breaking yard is
carrying out a gap analysis of these Indian ship recycling yards presently.
Prior to the adoption of the Hong Kong International
Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009
there was some opposition to the beaching method which prevails in Alang, the world
biggest ship breaking facility. Considered much economical and faster method of
recycling ships besides its many advantages, some European countries had
opposed it initially because it caused some degree of pollution and in some
cases hazardous material gets left behind while beaching and which gets washed
into the sea.
A.V. Pradhan, Regional Manager of ClassNK points out
that the beaching method followed at Alang cannot necessarily be said as ‘not
an approval method’. Also it cannot be said to be bad process of ship recycling
as long as they are able to take care of the pollution. He informed that
ClassNK has its inspectors at the site undertaking gap analysis. He felt that
certain procedures are required to be put in place before a SOC can be issued.
Tributyltin or TBT is a biocide which came into being
in the 1970s’ because of its brilliant anti fouling properties over ship’s hull
as it prevents the growth of algae, barnacles and other marine organisms that
cause the vessels’ weight to increase and cause a drag while moving in water.
But because of its harmful effect TBT was phased out of use from 1st Jan 2008.
But in order to implement the ban the TBT is either removed during dry docking
by ballasting which is costly or by putting a sealer coat on top of this TBT
approved anti fouling paint used. But in the beaching method the TBT from the
underside of the ship comes off on to the sand and often remains there until
the ship demolition is completed and TBT absorbed / washed back into sea when
the tide comes in.
“One of the main reasons for the opposition to the
beaching method is the pollution caused by the TBT which comes off and remains
on the beach,” says Mr. Pradhan. “If all such pollutions are prevented, the
banned material properly disposed off without spilling on to the beaches and
all the requirements of the Hong Kong convention are complied with then the
beaching method could be made acceptable for ship breaking.”
It is all a question of having to put a system in
place which involves not only creating awareness about the need for having a
technique to identify various hazardous material, use of the right procedure in
handling and segregating the material and undertaking storage if required and
its proper disposal all the ship breaking activities must be documented and
carried out safely.
“But most importantly there is a need to have a
change of attitude,” says Mr. Pradhan. “The ship breakers are not aware of the
pollution that is happening during ship breaking because of the traditional
approach which was subjected to indifferent style of functioning. It is
necessary to dissuade workers from randomly throwing out hazardous and useless
material and instead have it properly dispose off. According to the procedure
to be put in place workers will have to remove all material that remains on the
beach. They will have to train people in being able to identify hazardous
material and implement the system. “
To carry out the certification process studies are
being conducted on method followed for grant of SOC to Jiangmen Zhongxin
Shipbreaking & Steel Co., as well as another in Turkey.
Jiangmen Zhongxin Shipbreaking & Steel Co. is the
largest ship recycler in China with a yard of over 400,000 sq meters in area
has a capacity of only 500,000 light dead weight tons (LDT). However, the yard
has been a pioneer in green ship recycling and has earned recognition as a
“AAAA” level green ship breaking enterprise from the China National Ship
Recycling Association. After a thorough review of the ship recycling facility
plan (SRFP) developed by the yard with the assistance of Wilhelmsen Ship
Management, ClassNK working as a third party certification body confirmed that
the recycling practices of the yard were in compliance with the Hong Kong
Convention, and issued the world’s first SOC. The ship recycling yard at Turkey
is said to comply with the requirements of the European convention.
Source: maritime professional. 26 August 2013.
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