Ship recycling has for many
years been the preserve of shipbreaking yards with poor safety records and
little regard for the environment. Now, however, new regulations are
encouraging green practices
Since the dawn of the first
industrial revolution, humans have plundered the planet at an increasing rate.
Decades of excessive consumption have created an enormous quantity of global
waste, and we are rapidly running out of room in which to store it. Landfills
across the globe are fast reaching capacity, while the sea is flooded with one
refuse truck of plastic every minute. With the global population rapidly
rising, waste generation is also on the increase, and is expected to more than
triple over the next century. According to the World Bank, we will be creating
an incredible 11 million tonnes of rubbish per day by 2100.
In order to tackle this
growing problem, nations around the world are pursuing ambitious refuse
reduction efforts, and increasingly putting recycling at the top of their
climate change agenda. In many developed countries, recycling has become
commonplace in the home and at work, with environmentally conscious individuals
stepping up to reduce their personal waste. While these efforts should be
applauded, the problem of excessive waste cannot be solved through household
recycling alone. Heavy industries such as car making, shipbuilding and chemical
production are among the world’s worst offenders for waste creation, and must
urgently address their waste management policies. Leading the way among these
heavy industries is the ship recycling business, which seeks to safely
dismantle end-of-life ships and salvage their reusable materials. As
governments around the world call for greener alternatives to traditional
shipbreaking practices, the ship recycling industry is set to boom.
Vessel value
Today, most modern ships
have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years. Rust, corrosion and metal fatigue all take a
toll on these vessels, rendering them uneconomical after around a
quarter-decade of service. However, merely abandoning these ships to decay at
the end of their life would be unwise, as they contain vast quantities of
valuable materials, including steel, non-ferrous materials, wood, machinery,
spares and other parts. Indeed, merchant vessels contain nearly every form of
metal currently traded in global markets. Incredibly, up to 90 percent of an
old ship can either be reused or recycled, with many metals sold to be melted
and formed into other valuable products. Steel, for example, is recovered in
large quantities from retired vessels, and can then be recycled. The steel
recycling process consumes far less energy than its production from iron ore,
and is also a much cheaper way to manufacture the metal. As such, metal
recycling is both energy efficient and economically advantageous.
In addition to saving
precious natural resources and landfill space, the ship recycling industry also
plays an important role in generating jobs and income in many developing
countries. South Asia is home to the world’s largest concentration of ship recycling
yards, and the industry has become vital to the economies of Pakistan,
Bangladesh and India.
At present, the industry
employs more than 130,000 workers in the region, with many more involved in
associated industries. In areas where poverty and joblessness are rife, ship
recycling provides opportunities for workers who might otherwise face
unemployment. The industry also supplies south Asia with a valuable source of
steel. Bangladesh, for example, has no iron ore sources or mines, and thus
relies heavily on recycled steel from the ship recycling process. Indeed, 60
percent of the nation’s steel comes from ship recycling, while recycled steel
also accounts for 10 percent of neighbouring India’s needs.
Risky business
While there are advantages
to ship recycling, the industry is also the subject of some criticism. With a
reputation for being one of the world’s most dangerous jobs, there is a
worrying lack of regard for worker health and safety in many of south Asia’s
numerous ship recycling yards. Wages are low, and employees have no entitlement
to overtime, sick pay or annual leave. With inadequate or absent protective
equipment, workplace accidents are commonplace, often resulting in serious
injury or death. Dangerous fumes and vapours envelop many recycling yards,
causing workers to fall ill from inhaled toxins. What’s more, in Bangladesh
child labour accounts for more than 20 percent of the total workforce.
Ship recycling also poses a
significant environmental threat. End-of-life ships often contain a host of
hazardous materials, ranging from asbestos to toxic paints, all of which can
contaminate the local environment once they arrive at a recycling yard. Adding
to the problem, many ship owners sell their ships at high prices to substandard
recyclers, without providing an inventory of hazardous materials. This
inventory is key to ensuring safe ship recycling, but only a few ship owners
currently act properly.
Without a reliable list of a
ship’s contents, yard workers are unable to identify and effectively deal with
a retired ship’s hazardous materials, meaning these harmful toxins are released
into the atmosphere, soil and seawater. As such, heavy metal pollution has had
a severe impact on south Asia’s biodiversity and marine life, with 21 fish and
crustacean species disappearing from Bangladesh as a result of the ship
recycling industry. Mercury levels in the seawater and sediment at Alang,
India’s biggest ship recycling yard, are reported to be a phenomenal 15,500
percent higher than normal. To make matters worse, many of the region’s
ecologically important mangrove forests have been cut down in order to make
room for recycling yards, leaving coastal areas at risk from rising sea levels.
Given these significant
environmental and ethical concerns, it is clear the ship recycling industry
needs to urgently overhaul its operations in order to become sustainable. This
is where GSR Services comes in. Focused on changing the industry for the
better, we advise ship owners, manufacturers and shipyard managers on how to
improve their recycling practises. Effectively, we act as consultants and
service providers to ship recyclers and ship owners, guiding both to be
compliant with regulations and standards in the most effective way.
Tidal shift
As the costs of irresponsible
ship recycling become too great to ignore, the industry is now moving towards a
more sustainable future. Ever since the Hong Kong International Convention for
the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships first came into effect in
May 2009, there has been a tightening of international laws and regulations.
This year is a landmark one for the green ship recycling movement, as all
EU-flagged ships will soon be legally required to possess an inventory of
hazardous materials.
This year, the European
Commission will also announce whether it will continue to allow EU-flagged
ships to be recycled on south Asia’s beaches. If the European Commission
decides standards aren’t adequate in the region’s recycling yards, then it will
order EU-flagged ships to be dismantled elsewhere. This marks a pivotal
decision for the industry, which could see the sector shift away from its
current south Asian centre. Unsurprisingly, many of the region’s shipyards have
now begun to prioritise worker safety and environmental protections in the lead
up to the assessment.
What’s more, in a further
effort to improve worker health and safety, the Indian Government is soon set
to deliver a $4.4m grant to the nation’s ship recycling yards, as part of its
ambitious Sagarmala maritime investment project. With this fresh injection of
capital, the region’s recycling yards may well succeed in improving their
practices in line with EU standards.
Slowly but surely, ship
recycling is shedding its old-fashioned image and becoming a truly green
industry. Improved ship recycling practices must now become the norm, not the
exception.
Source: European
ceo. 28 Jul 2017
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