Ships scrapped are 50% fewer so far in 2017, despite scrap prices increase:

The marked improvement of the dry bulk market has led to the reduction in the number of ships sold for scrap, despite the fact that prices offered are more than attractive. In its latest weekly report, GMS, the world’s leading cash buyer said that “the recent market upsurge still shows no sign of abating, with another strong showing this week as levels propel ever closer to the coveted USD 400/LDT mark. One element that is helping this continued resurgence of fortunes is a distinct shortage of tonnage making it to the various recycling waterfronts. Compared to the corresponding period last year, supply to the beaches is about 50% lower this year (especially in the subcontinent)”.

GMS added that “coupled with improving local steel plate prices and the currency (especially in India), this has subsequently led to a frantic demand, particularly for pre-monsoon tonnage in the Indian sub-continent, as each new / successive fixture in the market fetches a higher number than the previous sale. How much longer will this market heat sustain remains a growing point of concern, as many industry players and recyclers believe the market may have already peaked, with prices set to soften as we head into April and even more likely, for pre-monsoon deliveries going into May.

International markets have certainly taken something of a battering of late and local steel markets in China and Turkey have come off significantly as well – perhaps an ominous foretelling of an inevitable unfolding of events in the Indian sub-continent recycling markets. Notwithstanding, it has certainly been a tremendous rally when compared to the doldrums that the market was in over the same period of 2016. The lowly USD 200s/LDT has sharply rebounded to almost touch the USD 400/LDT mark and it will be a momentous occasion once that psychological barrier has been breached, for a market that can be considered to have almost fully recovered from the ship-recycling recession of 2015 – early 2016”.

In a separate report, Allied Shipbroking noted that “the momentum continues on the price front, with many now seeing the possibility of touching levels of US$ 400/ldt fairly soon, especially if things continue as they are now. The lack of demo candidates has really put the pressure on cash buyers which have shown a considerable increase in appetite. As such, competition for each unit that does come to market is heavily contested and many are even willing to push for ever higher numbers as a speculative vibe starts to really take over the overall market. Local prices for steel have also helped keep this current momentum moving, while the increase in local demand has provided the confidence for many buyers to take on the extra risk. Given that this tends to always be a period in the year where we see a notable increase in activity as breakers aim to conclude a good volume before they reach the monsoon slump just before the summer months. A lot looks to be now dependent on the price of steel plates themselves, since the improvement in freight rates noted in sectors such as that of dry bulkers has surely generated considerably higher price ideas from the side of owners, who look to postpone the decision as much as possible”.

Similarly, Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “the market remained considerably subdued again previous week representing something similar to summer months where we normally expect a quieter period of activity. This has come from the ever improving freight rates in the Container and Dry markets. One fundamental change from this is that we do not expect to see the 2004 plus built units that were being circulated at the beginning of the year and these aged units are now no longer natural recycling candidates, further reducing the future supply. Furthermore the lack of vessels is also down to several Owners touting the market to see whether the USD 400/ldt level is actually achievable and refraining from marketing their vessels until these numbers are met. As of yet, it has not been seen although we are creeping ever closer. Some eyes are on China where the iron ore prices have fallen this week and thus, the hype recently witnessed may not fully materialise. One thing not to forget is that if demand is prominent but with limited tonnage supply, then as seen previously such as 2013, rates could significantly increase, so time will tell if the USD 400/level is reached and thereafter for how high it can rise”.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 30 March 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/ships-scrapped-are-50-fewer-so-far-in-2017-despite-scrap-prices-increase/

Ship for scrap triggers green concerns:

Officials say all statutory environmental rules, directives will be complied with

Every time a ship for scrap reaches the Steel Industries Kerala Ltd. (SILK) unit at Azhikkal here, there are apprehensions about environmental pollution.

And it is not likely to be any different this time when a 1,300-tonne cargo ship has been brought to the public sector vessel dismantling unit located on the bank of the Valapattanam river, if the concerns aired in a section of the media are any indication.

The cargo vessel from Male reached the SILK unit here recently for dismantling.

SILK officials have said all statutory environmental rules and directives will be complied with before the work for dismantling the vessel starts.

They said that this was the first vessel brought at the unit for breaking after completion of the ship-breaking activities amid protests by an action committee of local residents and environmental activists a few years ago. They had then demanded its closure saying that the ship-for-scrap work causes environmental and health hazards.

When contacted, SILK Managing Director J. Chandrabose told The Hindu over the phone that all statutory rules and directives from the Pollution Control Board will be complied with before the breaking starts. The dismantling work will be done in the workshop of the unit with roofing and concrete floor as required under the rules, he said adding that concrete flooring ensures that not a single drop of oil or grease from the ship reaches the waters.

The Azhikkal unit of SILK had been started for building boats as well as breaking vessels for generating steel required for recycling.

The public sector company is said to be running on accumulated loss, though the Azhikkal unit is surviving with orders for ship for scrap.

The latest order for dismantling coincides with the attempts to secure an order from the Kerala State Water Transport Corporation for building passenger boats. The SILK officials confided that the order is now at the stage of tendering.

The unit can stay afloat if it gets three or four vessels for dismantling every year, they said. Ship breaking is also for reuse of iron used in ships, they added.

All licences

N. Mohammed, senior manager of the SILK, said the unit has all the licences from the Pollution Control Board and the local panchayat for carrying out its operations.

Source: the hindu. 17 March 2017

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/ship-for-scrap-triggers-green-concerns/article17495186.ece

Dolphin, whale deaths: PCB seeks study:

KANNUR: A detailed study is required to find out the cause of frequent incidents of dead dolphins and whales washing ashore along the Kerala coast, and it should be initiated as a multi-institutional project involving organizations having expertise in their respective field, said a report submitted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) who had conducted a study on the occurrences.

The report also suggested various measures including steps to prevent the solid waste and sewage disposal. The ship breaking yards functioning in the area should adopt the code of ship breaking notified by the ministry of shipping, the report said.

The report submitted by Deepesh V, a scientist with the CPCB said the state pollution control board (PCB) should probe the incidences of indiscriminate solid waste disposal along the beaches and coastal area, and appropriate actions should Also, there were unconfirmed reports about biomedical waste being dumped in the sea at Kannur, and the CPCB team asked the authorities concerned to investigate this and take necessary actions. "The state PCB has to maintain routine vigil on incidences like beaching of dead marine mammals and mass fish kill, and a task force should be set up to monitor this at regular intervals and reports must be filed with state government," the report suggested.

Since there were complaints that the waste from the ship breaking unit of the Steel Industries Kerala Ltd (SILK) at Azhikkal could also be one reason for the death of dolphins, the team had inspected the site and found that there were several spillages of oil and materials like paint scraps on the land and also the code of ship breaking notified by the ministry of shipping was not being followed. The experts also visited other locations including Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Alappuzha, where dolphin death cases were reported.

According to M K Satheesh Kumar, professor at department of atomic and molecular physics, Manipal University, who had assisted the team in the study, there could be various reasons including the rise in sea surface temperature, toxicity in the sea waters, noise pollution from increased sea traffic, and rampant marine pollution due to indiscriminate dumping of plastic and waste water that cause the death of dolphins. "It is a matter of serious environmental consequences and hence the issue should be studied deeply," he suggested.

The CPCB initiated the study on the basis of the report, 'Rising cases of dolphin and turtle deaths spark concern', published in TOI on March 30, 2016, and also the representation made by Rajya Sabha MP Richard Hay to the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) seeking a detailed study into it.

Source: times of india. 28 March 2017

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/dolphin-whale-deaths-pcb-seeks-study/articleshow/57862257.cms

Princess of Acadia to be scrapped:

The federal government has issued a request for proposals to dismantle the old Digby ferry, which it replaced in 2015 with a more modern ship.

The old Digby ferry is heading for the scrapyard.

The federal government has issued a request for proposals to demolish the MV Princess of Acadia, which it replaced in 2015 with a more modern ferry.

“The Princess of Acadia shall be disposed of through ship breaking,” say tendering documents. “The contractor will be required to ship break the vessel in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner that is conforming to Canadian laws and the contract.”

Constructed at Saint John Shipyard in 1971 by Canadian Pacific, the 146-metre-long ship was purpose-built for the run between Digby and Saint John, N.B.

“After decades of service the Princess of Acadia has reached the end of its operational life and is now moored in Sydport, N.S., in an unmanned and cold state,” say tendering documents.

The request for proposals defines ship breaking as “the process of systematically scrapping the entire infrastructure of an obsolete vessel by dismantling and disposing or recycling all of its component parts and hazardous materials.”

There is a bidders conference for companies interesting in doing the scrapping work slated for April 5 at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney. Outfits that want to be considered must let Public Works know by Wednesday.

A mandatory site visit for bidders is slated for April 6 at the college.

Only eastern Canadian companies with ship breaking capabilities are eligible for the scrapping work. The tendering documents cite several laws aimed at restricting the movement of hazardous waste for that stipulation.

The scrapping work must start around July 1, when it is estimated the Princess of Acadia will be towed to the yard that wins the contract, and be completed by June 30, 2018.

Bidders must demonstrate their experience in handling and disposing of hazardous materials, say tendering documents.

Bidders also need to provide at least one example of a project that they have completed in the past decade that required proper handling of a minimum of four of the following items: asbestos-containing materials, metals (including lead) in paint, heavy metals in materials (flashing, solder, anodes), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) containing materials, mercury in electronic products, ozone depleting substances, petroleum oil and lubricant residue and radioactive materials.

The outfit that wins the work must be prepared to take the Princess of Acadia from its current berth within 30 days of the contract award, say tendering documents.

The request for proposals defines ship breaking as “the process of systematically scrapping the entire infrastructure of an obsolete vessel by dismantling and disposing or recycling all of its component parts and hazardous materials.”

There is a bidders conference for companies interesting in doing the scrapping work slated for April 5 at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney. Outfits that want to be considered must let Public Works know by Wednesday.

A mandatory site visit for bidders is slated for April 6 at the college.

Only eastern Canadian companies with ship breaking capabilities are eligible for the scrapping work. The tendering documents cite several laws aimed at restricting the movement of hazardous waste for that stipulation.

The scrapping work must start around July 1, when it is estimated the Princess of Acadia will be towed to the yard that wins the contract, and be completed by June 30, 2018.

Bidders must demonstrate their experience in handling and disposing of hazardous materials, say tendering documents.

Bidders also need to provide at least one example of a project that they have completed in the past decade that required proper handling of a minimum of four of the following items: asbestos-containing materials, metals (including lead) in paint, heavy metals in materials (flashing, solder, anodes), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) containing materials, mercury in electronic products, ozone depleting substances, petroleum oil and lubricant residue and radioactive materials.

The outfit that wins the work must be prepared to take the Princess of Acadia from its current berth within 30 days of the contract award, say tendering documents.

Source: local xpress.

https://www.localxpress.ca/local-news/princess-of-acadia-to-be-scrapped-573608

Could two more navy vessels be heading our way?

LIVERPOOL - The federal government has issued two new public tenders for the ship breaking and disposal of former navy ships – and these ones are close by.

The former HMCS Preserver and the CFAV Quest are located in the Halifax dockyard.

R.J. MacIsaac Ltd. of Antigonish has set up a shipbreaking yard in Liverpool.

So far, the company has been awarded the tenders for the last three naval vessels to be recycled.

The former Protecteur, Iroquois, and Algonquin  were taken to Liverpool from British Columbia as part of a contract worth about $50 million.

According the federal government’s tender document, the Department of National Defence has a requirement dispose of the former HMCS Preserver, a Protecteur-class auxiliary oil replenishment ship, and the former CFAV QUEST, an Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research/Oceanographic Research Ship.

The contractor will be required to prepare the ships for transfer, transfer each to the approved sites, demilitarize the controlled goods, return any museum material, and subsequently dismantle, dispose and recycle the vessels.

The tender will close on April 26.

According to the document, work must be completed on both vessels within 18 months of the contract being awarded. 

R.J. MacIsaac has not commented  on whether it plans to bid on the vessels.

Source: the advance. 25 March 2017

http://www.theadvance.ca/news/local/2017/3/25/could-two-more-navy-vessels-be-heading-our-way-.html

Navy can’t even give away two old ships because it would cost too much to remove hazardous materials

The Royal Canadian Navy considered giving a destroyer and supply ship to another nation instead of scrapping them, but had to nix the idea when it realized how costly it would be to remove hazardous materials from the vessels.

HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Algonquin, both decommissioned in 2015, were considered for donation, according to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen. But to move ahead with that plan would have required that the government spend more than $10 million on each vessel to remove all polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

Instead of spending the $20 million, the decision was made to send the vessels to the scrap heap.

Public Services and Procurement Canada has just put out a new request for bids for the disposal of the former HMCS Preserver, a supply ship, and the former CFAV Quest, a research ship used by the Department of National Defence. Those bids are required by April 26.

But the 2015 disposal documents prepared for HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Algonquin outline the limitations of what can be done with surplus navy vessels.

The Royal Canadian Navy considered either giving HMCS Algonquin to another nation or donating it to a museum or similar outlet. “A gratuitous transfer to another nation was considered and deemed not to be a viable option due to numerous hazardous materials embedded through the ship, such as polychlorinated biphenyls,” said the navy planning records, obtained by the Citizen through the Access to Information law.

PCBs were in HMCS Algonquin’s cabling and insulation. Because of international rules on PCBs, the material would have to be removed from the vessel before it could be transferred to another nation, according to the navy.

“(The ship’s) only value is for recycling of her metal,” the navy documents stated, adding that the government would receive $400,000 to $600,000 for the scrap metal.

HMCS Protecteur, commissioned in 1969 and damaged by a major fire in 2014, also had PCBs on board and faced similar issues.

The Navy also decided against donating the ships to non-profit groups or museums. That was deemed to be “the most risky and costly option” to the federal government since not only did the military have to remove hazardous materials but would still have a degree of responsibility over the vessels.

“If (Protecteur) is to be displayed alongside a given jetty and poor maintenance results in the ship sinking, the Navy will likely have to assist financially or physically in the recovery of the ship,” the navy warned.

The disposal documents also pointed to past problems. HMCS Fraser was transferred to a private organization in 1998 but legal and other issues forced the navy to buy the ship back. It was eventually dismantled in 2011.

During the disposal of the former HMCS Annapolis, the navy had to pay $1 million to remove PCBs. It was then sold for $20,000 and was used as an artificial reef, according to the navy documents.

The submarine Onondaga was transferred to a museum but, after the boat rolled on its side, the navy had to send a team of experts to deal with the problem. During that 2008 operation, a navy diver narrowly escaped being crushed, the documents point out.

Source: national post. 19 March 2017

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/navy-cant-even-give-away-two-old-ships-because-it-would-cost-too-much-to-remove-hazardous-materials

Russia will subside ship recycling and boost shipbuilding

Russia will subside the ship recycling to recover part of the cost of acquiring or building new merchant vessels. For the current year, the government will allocate 400 million rubles and the measure will last until 2030. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to consolidate the requirements for the priority placement of orders for the construction of ships at domestic shipyards, which will boost the local sector and expected to start benefiting the economy from 2020, as the measure is good only with the full technical modernization of domestic enterprises and need technical period for modernization of the yards.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed a ship recycling grant in the form of subsidies to organizations to recover part of the cost of acquiring or building new merchant vessels in exchange for ships that have been scrapped. This year, the planned subsidy is 400 million rubles. Financing of the ship recycling grant will last until 2030”, said the Russian Industry and Trade Minister, Denis Manturov.

The Russian government also plans to boost shipping industry in the country, as the coastal transportation within Russian territorial waters should be carried out only under the Russian flag vessel and ships built at Russian shipyards.

Source: maritime herald. 19 March 2017

http://www.maritimeherald.com/2017/russia-will-subside-ship-recycling-and-boost-shipbuilding/

Ship for scrap triggers green concerns

Officials say all statutory environmental rules, directives will be complied with

Every time a ship for scrap reaches the Steel Industries Kerala Ltd. (SILK) unit at Azhikkal here, there are apprehensions about environmental pollution.

And it is not likely to be any different this time when a 1,300-tonne cargo ship has been brought to the public sector vessel dismantling unit located on the bank of the Valapattanam river, if the concerns aired in a section of the media are any indication.

The cargo vessel from Male reached the SILK unit here recently for dismantling.

SILK officials have said all statutory environmental rules and directives will be complied with before the work for dismantling the vessel starts.

They said that this was the first vessel brought at the unit for breaking after completion of the ship-breaking activities amid protests by an action committee of local residents and environmental activists a few years ago. They had then demanded its closure saying that the ship-for-scrap work causes environmental and health hazards.

When contacted, SILK Managing Director J. Chandrabose told The Hindu over the phone that all statutory rules and directives from the Pollution Control Board will be complied with before the breaking starts. The dismantling work will be done in the workshop of the unit with roofing and concrete floor as required under the rules, he said adding that concrete flooring ensures that not a single drop of oil or grease from the ship reaches the waters.

The Azhikkal unit of SILK had been started for building boats as well as breaking vessels for generating steel required for recycling.

The public sector company is said to be running on accumulated loss, though the Azhikkal unit is surviving with orders for ship for scrap.

The latest order for dismantling coincides with the attempts to secure an order from the Kerala State Water Transport Corporation for building passenger boats. The SILK officials confided that the order is now at the stage of tendering.

The unit can stay afloat if it gets three or four vessels for dismantling every year, they said. Ship breaking is also for reuse of iron used in ships, they added.

All licences

N. Mohammed, senior manager of the SILK, said the unit has all the licences from the Pollution Control Board and the local panchayat for carrying out its operations.

Source: the hindu. 17 March 2017

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/ship-for-scrap-triggers-green-concerns/article17495186.ece

Please, Get Real with Ship Recycling

Last week five European ship recycling yards announced that they signed an agreement that establishes the European Ship Recyclers Group (ESR). In its statement ESR said: “Our first target is to create awareness of the recycling capacity in Europe which today is over a million ton. We have to ensure that our member yards are on the top of the ship-owners’ list for dismantling their ships. Our message is a clear one. If we can handle them let’s keep the E.U. flagged ships in Europe.”

Furthermore, the Group says that it aims to speak with one voice to the European Commission, which is responsible for the implementation of the new E.U. Ship Recycling Regulation, and to unite all European recycling.

The day following the establishment of ESR, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform issued an announcement: (1) welcoming this initiative; (2) alleging that ship owners are rejecting European recyclers under the false pretext that there is no recycling capacity in Europe; (3) reaffirming ESR’s claim that the European Union yards have a combined capacity of 1.1 million LDT; (4) stating that almost all European yards had said to the Platform that, if they would be promised an increased market share of the commercially owned vessels, they would invest to enlarge their facilities; and (5) calling for European legislation to oblige all ships visiting European ports to pay a Ship Recycling Licence to finance the closing of the price gap with South Asia.

It is understandable that European ship recyclers wish to maximize any opportunity that the European Ship Recycling Regulation may offer them. However, I think that the new organisation is getting carried away with its own marketing and the views of the Platform.

The starting point for understanding the market for the recycling of commercial ships is to study the scrap steel market. The European Union has been the largest net exporter of scrap steel in the world, having overtaken the U.S., which is currently the second largest net exporter.

Seen in this light, the idea of recycling ships for their steel in Europe (or in the U.S.), in order to export ferrous scrap to Turkey1 (which is the destination of 58.8 percent of E.U.’s scrap steel exports in 2015), to India (10.4 percent of E.U.’s exports) and to Pakistan (7.2 percent) is plainly absurd and not worth serious consideration. Nevertheless, this is exactly what the ESR and the NGO are saying in their public statements.

Each of the 18 European recycling yards that applied and that have already been included in the European List of approved yards, had to declare in their applications the maximum annual tonnage they have recycled in the last decade. This is what is termed as the ship recycling capacity by the European Regulation, as well as by Hong Kong Convention.

Naturally, this metric results in an overestimate of true current capacity as, for some of the yards their maximum annual tonnage may reflect capacity of a few years ago that is no longer there. In fact, amongst the 18 E.U. yards currently appearing in the European List there are yards that are not currently recycling ships. In any case, the self declared maximum annual capacity of the 18 European yards is 303,065 LDT2, and definitely not the wishful figure of 1.1 million LDT that is claimed by ESR and the NGO.

We have to assume that the people who run the European ship recycling yards must be capable businessmen. How then can they keep a straight face when saying they have to ensure that their member yards are on the top of the shipowners’ list for dismantling their ships? Even forgetting Chinese and South Asian yards, why on earth should any owner of an ocean-going ship not sell his ship to a Turkish recycling yard for multiples of the price offered by E.U. yards?

The European ship recycling yards are not, and will not be the destination for end of life ocean-going commercial ships. Instead, the real market for European ship recyclers is made up of: E.U. government ships; ships that are immobilised in E.U. ports because of damage; and, primarily, the plethora of smaller European based ships and boats for which repositioning to South Asia, China and even Turkey would be impractical and economically prohibitive.

To get a feel of the magnitude of the small ship market we may examine the size distribution of the world fleet3. At the end of December 2015 there were 111,806 ships over 100 Gross Tons in the world. If we make the reasonable assumption that ships below 3,000 GT are not likely to travel a great distance to a recycling yard, this means that 75,998 ships between 100 GT and 2,999 GT, or 68 percent of the world fleet’s ships, will be recycled in local yards.

A similar proportion of the fleet trading in European waters should also be expected to be recycled in European yards. To these ships one should add the vast number of boats below 100 GT. This is the natural market for European ship recyclers, and it would appear wiser for ESR to concentrate on these ships rather than support the unreal propositions of the Platform.

Dr Nikos Mikelis is non-executive director of cash buyer GMS.

1 “World Steel Recycling in Figures 2011-2015” Bureau of International Recycling, Ferrous Division.

2 ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/ships/list.htm

3 “World Fleet Statistics 2015”, IHS Maritime & Trade 2016

Source: maritime-executive. 15 March 2017

http://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/please-get-real-with-ship-recycling

All statutory rules being followed: SILK

Every time a ship for scrap reaches the Steel Industries Kerala Ltd. (SILK) unit at Azhikkal here, there are apprehensions about environmental pollution.

And it is not likely to be any different this time when a 1,300-tonne cargo ship has been brought to the public sector vessel dismantling unit located on the bank of the Valapattanam river, if the concerns aired in a section of the media are any indication.

The cargo vessel from Male reached the SILK unit here recently for dismantling.

SILK officials have said all statutory environmental rules and directives will be complied with before the work for dismantling the vessel starts. They said that this was the first vessel brought at the unit for breaking after completion of the ship-breaking activities amid protests by an action committee of local residents and environmental activists a few years ago. They had then demanded its closure saying that the ship-for-scrap work causes environmental and health hazards.

When contacted, SILK Managing Director J. Chandrabose told The Hindu over the phone that all statutory rules and directives from the Pollution Control Board will be complied with before the breaking starts. The dismantling work will be done in the workshop of the unit with roofing and concrete floor as required under the rules, he said adding that concrete flooring ensures that not a single drop of oil or grease from the ship reaches the waters.

The Azhikkal unit of SILK had been started for building boats as well as breaking vessels for generating steel required for recycling.

The public sector company is said to be running on accumulated loss, though the Azhikkal unit is surviving with orders for ship for scrap.

The latest order for dismantling coincides with the attempts to secure an order from the Kerala State Water Transport Corporation for building passenger boats. The SILK officials confided that the order is now at the stage of tendering. The unit can stay afloat if it gets three or four vessels for dismantling every year, they said. Ship breaking is also for reuse of iron used in ships, they added.

N. Mohammed, senior manager of the SILK unit at Azhikkal, said the unit has all the licences from the Pollution Control Board and the local panchayat for carrying out its operations. No contamination of water is possible as the vessel is not being dismantled in the water but inside the workshop with concrete floor. The unit also does steel fabrication work for other agencies, he added.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 18 March 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/all-statutory-rules-being-followed-silk/  

European Recyclers Form Ship Recycling Group

Five European ship recycling yards have joined forces to effectively raise awareness of existing best practice and the fact that there is capacity in Europe to properly recycle ships.

The newly established European Ship Recyclers Group (ESR), set up under the umbrella of the International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA), aims at reaching out to ship owners that are looking for clean and safe ship recycling.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform can only welcome this step and vows to support their efforts in attracting more business as long as they maintain sustainable practices.

The European Union approved 18 ship recycling facilities with a total capacity of 1.1 million LDT under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation in December last year. All 18 facilities are located within the EU and the newly established ESR represents five of these yards – from France (Port of Bordeaux), Belgium (Galloo), Denmark (Smedegaarden), the Netherlands (Scheepssloperij) and Spain (DDR).

The European Commission is currently revising 18 additional applications from facilities located outside the EU. To make it on the EU list of approved facilities, yards need to prove that they are able to contain pollutants, ensure safe working conditions and the environmentally sound management of all wastes derived from the recycling activities. Facilities that operate on tidal beaches are not expected to make it on the EU list.

Whilst ship recycling facilities in Europe, as in the US and China, currently operate under-capacity because they are unable to compete with the higher prices offered by the beaching yards in South Asia, the EU list comes with a promise of raising the profile of yards that have already invested in infrastructure and technologies to ensure safe and clean practices.

“ESR’s main goals are to unite all European ship recycling yards and let the ship owners know that there is capacity for ship recycling in Europe. Our message is a clear, if we can handle them, let’s keep the EU-flagged ships in Europe,” says Peter Wyntin of Galloo, chairman of ESR. “ESR will be in close contact with local and EU governments to make sure substandard and unlicensed recycling practices also within Europe are ended,” Wyntin added.

Ship owners are regrettably quick in rejecting European recyclers under the false pretext that there is no capacity in Europe.

European yards today primarily recycle government-owned and smaller vessels, but questioned by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in 2013, almost all European yards expressed that a promise of an increased market share of the commercially owned vessels would prompt investments to enlarge their facilities, or use currently dormant locations, to enable the recycling of also the largest ships.

Source: marine link. 10 March 2017

http://www.marinelink.com/news/recyclers-recycling423037

EU ship recyclers join voices to promote clean and safe practices

Five European ship recycling yards announced yesterday that they have joined forces to effectively raise awareness of existing best practice and the fact that there is capacity in Europe to properly recycle ships. The newly established European Ship Recyclers Group (ESR) aims at reaching out to ship owners that are looking for clean and safe ship recycling. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform can only welcome this step and vows to support their efforts in attracting more business as long as they maintain sustainable practices.

The European Union approved 18 ship recycling facilities with a total capacity of 1.1 million LDT under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation in December last year. All 18 facilities are located within the EU and the newly established ESR represents five of these yards – from France (Port of Bordeaux), Belgium (Galloo), Denmark (Smedegaarden), the Netherlands (Scheepssloperij) and Spain (DDR). The European Commission is currently revising 18 additional applications from facilities located outside the EU. To make it on the EU list of approved facilities, yards need to prove that they are able to contain pollutants, ensure safe working conditions and the environmentally sound management of all wastes derived from the recycling activities. Facilities that operate on tidal beaches are not expected to make it on the EU list.

Whilst ship recycling facilities in Europe, as in the US and China, currently operate under-capacity because they are unable to compete with the higher prices offered by the beaching yards in South Asia, the EU list comes with a promise of raising the profile of yards that have already invested in infrastructure and technologies to ensure safe and clean practices.

“ESR’s main goals are to unite all European ship recycling yards and let the ship owners know that there is capacity for ship recycling in Europe. Our message is a clear, if we can handle them, let’s keep the EU-flagged ships in Europe,” says Peter Wyntin of Galloo, chairman of ESR. “ESR will be in close contact with local and EU governments to make sure substandard and unlicensed recycling practices also within Europe are ended,” Wyntin added.

Ship owners are regrettably quick in rejecting European recyclers under the false pretext that there is no capacity in Europe. European yards today primarily recycle government-owned and smaller vessels, but questioned by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in 2013, almost all European yards expressed that a promise of an increased market share of the commercially owned vessels would prompt investments to enlarge their facilities, or use currently dormant locations, to enable the recycling of also the largest ships.

To effectively push ship owners towards using EU approved yards, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform is calling for an incentive that will help close the financial gap between dirty and dangerous shipbreaking and proper ship recycling. The shipping industry needs to internalise the environmental and human costs of shipbreaking. The recently proposed Ship Recycling Licence does exactly that [1] and received support from the European Economic and Social Committee that in October adopted an opinion calling for “a financial mechanism to end beaching”.

“Ship owners cannot continue to ignore European recyclers and companies that have the capacity and will to provide solutions that can put an end to the scandalous conditions we are witnessing in South Asia. Only last week two more workers were killed at the shipbreaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh – the destination where most end-of-life gross tonnage was scrapped in 2016. [3] Commitment to use EU listed facilities is what we expect from any shipping company that calls itself socially responsible,” said Ingvild Jenssen, Director and Founder of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 11 March 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/eu-ship-recyclers-join-voices-to-promote-clean-and-safe-practices/

Record attendance at TradeWinds' Ship Recycling Forum

A record number of more than 200 breakers, brokers and buyers and service providers at the cutting edge of ship demolition descended on Singapore last week for the TradeWinds Ship Recycling Forum including the heads of the Indian, Bangladesh and Pakistan national recycling associations.

A packed afternoon workshop discussed improvements at the waterfront including the growing number of Alang shipbreakers certified as holding a Statement of Compliance with the Hong Kong Convention. Health, safety and environmental standards in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, China and the USA were also discussed and debated by an expert panel including John Stawpert of ICS, Francesca Carlsson of NGO Shipbreaking Platform, Jim Heath of Lloyd’s Register, Henning Gramann of GSR Services, Nitin Kanakiya of Triveni Ship Breakers and Chetan Patel, owner of Shree Ram Group.

Differences were put aside for a few hours as participants enjoyed an evening with views over Marina Bay hosted by Dani Patel, Director of Dubai-based Al Salam Insurance and Junichi Hirata of Japan’s ClassNK.

Source: my news desk. 10 March 2017

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/tradewinds-events/news/record-attendance-at-tradewinds-ship-recycling-forum-226411