Ship line says all recycling will abide by
responsible ship recycling standards.
Maersk Line, the largest container shipping
line in the world, has signed an agreement to have eight of its vessels
scrapped by ship recycling companies in India and China. The vessels to be
scrap are all Panamax vessels.
As part of the agreement, the ship recycling
firms have agreed to process the vessels in full agreement with the A.P. Moller
- Maersk Responsible Ship Recycling Standard (RSRS).
The ship line adds that it expects to recycle
a larger number of vessels than in previous years as more of its vessels are
coming to their economical end of life. At the present time Maersk Line has a
fleet of more than 600 vessels that it owns and charters.
In November, Maersk Line and Maersk Transport
& Logistics Sustainability selected five ship recycling facilities in China
and India for a tender to recycle eight Panamax vessels. All the ship recyclers
agreed to the A.P. Moller - Maersk Responsible Ship Recycling Standard (RSRS)
as a prerequisite to enter the tender.
“These vessels represent roughly 1 percent of
our fleet, so this is a small but meaningful capacity reduction, which will
contribute to achieving a better balance between supply and demand for Maersk
Line,” says Maersk Line COO, Søren Toft.
“The cost of replacing the vessel – hereunder
its operational profile, its segment fit and how this segment is covered within
the needs of our network – also impacts our considerations as to whether to
recycle a vessel. Finally, external factors such as steel price developments and
global or regional trade outlooks play a role in our decision making process,”
says Peter Lund, head of chartering at Maersk Line.
In India, four vessels will be recycled by
Shree Ram; Y.S. Investments, a part of The Lucky Group, will process two other
Maersk vessels.
Recycling supervision will be carried out by
Maersk QHSE superintendents and external consultants to ensure responsible ship
recycling operations according to the A.P. Moller – Maersk RSRS.
“Since our first vessels arrived in Alang
(India) earlier this year, we’ve seen significant progress; at the facility we
are working with now, at the facilities that will recycle these next four
vessels, and even at other facilities that have been encouraged to invest and
upgrade,” says Annette Stube, head of sustainability for Maersk Transport &
Logistics.
The remaining four vessels will be recycled
at Changjiang Ship Recycling, located in Jiangyin, China, a Lloyd’s Register
certified facility. Supervision of the scrapping will be carried out by Sea2Cradle.
“With this tender, we have for the first time
seen that the ship recyclers compete not only on price, but also on standards.
This indicates a move towards higher standards, and we will continue to
encourage this development,” says Stube.
Estimated transfer dates of the vessels to
the ship recycling yards are between the middle of December 2016 and the middle
of March 2017.
Source:
recycling
today global. 19 December 2016
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