Turkey’s Western Town Becomes “Ship Demolition Center” Of Europe

İzmir’s Aliağa becomes Europe’s ship demolition center-

İzmir’s Aliağa district, a center of industry with manufacturing plants, petrochemical and refinery facilities and host to a ship demolition yard, has become the “ship demolition center” of Europe.

The district has been attracting numerous European firms since last year due to its modern ship demolition facilities. A total of 127 ships, mostly from European countries, were demolished at the shipyard in Aliağa in 2009, while 187 vessels were disposed of in the region in the first 10 months of 2010, officials told the Anatolia news agency on Friday. Adem Şimşek, chairman of the Ship Recyclers’ Association of Turkey (GEMİSANDER), said the ship demolition facility had been modernized recently, business health and safety conditions at work improved and a total of $10 million spent to prevent pollution. Şimşek also said European maritime firms preferred the Aliağa ship demolition yard thanks to the Aegean town’s environment-friendly facilities. The chairman noted that nearly 1,800 people were employed at the ship demolition yard, adding 152,757 tons of ships had been demolished in the region in 2008, while the figure had risen to 297,881 tons in 2009. “During the first 10 months of 2010, 187 ships weighing 333,280 tons in total have been scrapped in Aliaga. Our goal is to reach 425,000 tons by the end of the year. We aim to recycle 98 percent of the ships sent to our region,” he explained. Şimşek said five to six countries currently deal with ship demolition; however, none of these countries have made progress in terms of Europe’s environmental standards. “Turkey is the only country among them that acts in accordance with environmental regulations and EU standards,” he noted. Şimşek added that Turkey does not accept problematic and dangerous vessels, nuclear waste or ships with asbestos for disposal.

Source: 06 November 2010, Saturday / Today’s Zaman, İstanbul
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-226503-105-izmirs-aliaga-becomes-europes-ship-demolition-center.html
http://www.turkishforum.com.tr/en/content/2010/11/06/turkeys-western-town-becomes-ship-demolition-center-of-europe-turkishny-com/

ISO issues new specifications to improve ship recycling procedures

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released two new specifications that address two of the biggest problems found with the dismantling and recycling of vessels:

• the environmental problems with the procedure, and
• the safety of workers tasked with dismantling the vessels.

The first publicly available specification (PAS), 30006:2010, addresses and provides diagrams to show the location of hazardous materials on vessels.

The second PAS, 30007:2010, provides instructions on steps that should be taken to prevent asbestos emission and exposure during the ship recycling process. The PAS provides guidance for the preparation of ships for recycling and helps to minimize the use of potentially hazardous materials and waste generation during a ship’s operating life.

Workers will also be protected under the new specifications. ISO says that shipyard workers have an elevated risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.

According to the ISO announcement, PAS 30007:2010 provides effective methods for minimizing the dangers of asbestos during ship recycling by reducing both the release of asbestos into the environment and worker exposure to asbestos.

The standards were developed by ISO Technical Committee (TC) 8, Ships and marine technology, subcommittee (SC) 2, Marine environment protection.

Source: The Economic Times;

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Shipping-/-Transport//articleshow/6503095.cms

Bangladesh High Court against scrap ship import without decontamination certificate

The High Court directed the government authorities not to issue any no objection certificate (NOC) for importing any scrap ships in the country without environmental and decontamination certificates. It also recalled an interim order of importing ship without environment clearance certificate (ECC) that was passed by another HC bench recently.

The HC earlier directed the government several times not to allow any ship breaking yards to run without environment clearance certificates. But none of the ship breaking yards took any ECC from the Directorate of Environment (DOE).

The court also directed the government to ensure submission of proper decontamination certificates as per the Basel Convention.

According to the Basel Convention, old ships are themselves treated as hazardous waste due to their inbuilt toxic substances. Cleaning ships made with toxic materials, including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, chromates, mercury, organic liquids (benzene etc), battery, is hard and involves huge cost.

A division bench comprising Justice Md Imman Ali and Justice Obaidul Hasan on Monday passed the order in response to a petition by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

Earlier some of the ship breakers got an order from a bench on October 4 in which the bench directed the DoE to issue NOC to the ship breaking companies.

Source: The Daily Star; Wednesday, 13 October 2010

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125291&Itemid=54

GMS and GL introduce Green Ship Recycling Program (GSRP)

GMS-GL GSRP is a joint collaboration between industry leaders, Global Marketing Systems (GMS) – World’s Largest Cash Buyer and Germanischer Lloyd (GL) – world’s leading IACS classification society. This collaborative venture was created for the seamless implementation of Safe and Environmentally Sound ship recycling guidelines developed by the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention. GSRP is designed to address the needs of the most demanding Corporate  Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of the leading ship owners of the world and to mitigate the risk of potential legal action against the owners. GMS-GL GSRP offers the BEST combination of cost effective practical solutions without sacrificing superior quality. Most importantly, it is in compliance with the guidelines established not only by the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention, but also by:

• International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO)
• International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
• International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO)
• Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO)
• International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)
• International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF)
• Oil Companies’ International Marine Forum (OCIMF)
• International Parcel Tankers Association (IPTA)
• International Association of Classification Societies Ltd. (IACS)
GSRP Management:The GMS – GL GSRP program is designed to be the world’s most innovative, practical and comprehensive ship recycling program! Some of the key features and benefits of the program are:

• Nominees of GMS will buy the vessel for recycling on an ‘as is where is’ basis
(“delivered” option will also be considered).
• GL will supervise the preparation of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) and certify it.
• GL will vet the ship recycling yard to ensure compliance with international
quality standards and issue conclusive report.
• GL will approve the Green Ship Recycling Plan for the vessel.
• GL will supervise and audit the ship recycling process.
• GL will review and approve the final report on the ship recycling process.
• GMS will manage the complete project and do all of the reporting under
the auspices of GL.

The real USP of the program? All of the above, at a fraction of the cost of what a comparable program would cost anywhere else. Now, ship owners can meettheir CSR and legal responsibilities without breaking the bank…and feel good in the process!

Global Marketing Systems (GMS), the world’s leading buyer of ships for recycling, has been an ardent proponent of green ship recycling.

Over the last several years, GMS has been actively involved in promoting the “green” agenda at various platforms and enlightening the world about Green Ship Recycling. GMS has also been part of the deliberations leading to IMO’s “Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009”. The company has invested considerable resources in to ”green recycling” and continues to support yards in both advisory and financial capacity. GMS has successfully handled ships for Green recycling for a number of blue chip listed companies.

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) GL is one of the world’s oldest and best known Classification Societies in operation since 1867. GL combines the knowledge of risk management with detailed insight in to the various aspects of recycling, waste management, and sustainability. GL offer comprehensive Ship Recycling Service Portfolios and is actively supporting a greener and more cost-effective way to operate throughout all cycles of a ship’s life, from cradle to grave.

Source: GMS – GL Group
Saturday, 16 October 2010
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125772&Itemid=79

Bay Area company given contract to raze 'Mothball' ships

Ship Scrapping Jobs Coming to Mare Island

A Petaluma company has been awarded a $3.1 million federal contract for a ship dismantling project slated for Mare Island, the U.S. Maritime Administration announced Tuesday.

The venture could bring up to 120 jobs to Vallejo and breathe new life into the dormant Mare Island shipyard.
 
Under the contract, the SS Solon Turman and SS President of the Maritime Administration's Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet will be the first ships scrapped in the Bay Area.
 
The two obsolete federal reserve ships could be delivered to two of the former naval shipyard's dry docks as early as next month. But the Mare Island Strait must be dredged first. Dredging will begin soon after the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission grants a project permit, said Jay Anast, Allied Defense Recycling business operations director. After the dredging is completed and the drydocks are operational, ADR will take delivery of the ships from the Suisun Bay Retention Fleet (SBRF) in late January 2011 for the vessel SS President and in early March 2011 for the vessel SS Solon Turman.
 
"If (the commission) gave us notice to proceed today, you would see actual silt coming from the water within 48 hours," Anast said, adding that, "We're very happy and proud that our hard work has led to (these contracts)."

It was not immediately known when the commission may act on the permit request.
 
Anast said that the company has been preparing for the last month to dredge the strait in anticipation of the ship scrapping. Both mothballed vessels are 1960s-era cargo ships.
 
Allied Defense Recycling has a tight deadline to begin dredging the strait by year's end or face waiting another year.
A 2008 study estimated that 102,000 cubic yards of silt needed to be removed. In the two years since the study, 60,000 more cubic yards has accumulated, Anast said.

The company received its overall environmental permits in recent months. It also signed a lease with dock owners Lennar Mare Island in August, and was qualified to bid on ship recycling contracts at the end of September.
 
The Maritime Administration offered Allied Defense Recycling a contract without competition from other ship recyclers.
 
The federal agency faces the task of ridding Suisun Bay of 47 vessels by 2017.

The Maritime Administration justified the so-called "no-bid contract" with Allied Defense Recycling by citing delays and funding issues in its partnership with a Bay Area ship-cleaning facility that prepares ships for dismantling outside the area.
 

Some of the ships anchored in the San Francisco Bay's ghost fleet are seen from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia on March 31. (Rick Roach / The Reporter / Reporter file)

The obsolete vessels are moored off Benicia's shore in Suisun Bay, just 10 miles from Mare Island. In the past year, 11 vessels have been towed to Texas, some 5,000 miles around the Panama Canal, for dismantling.
 
A year ago, the Vallejo Planning Commission gave its blessing to the project, with plans to employ 60 to 120 people, dredge the Mare Island Strait, remove several buildings surrounding the docks and build two parking lots and a public overlook area.
 
"Scrapping and recycling these ghost ships in Vallejo is a tremendous boost to our community and is the right step forward for removing the remaining obsolete ships from Suisun Bay," Rep. George Miller, D-Solano, said in a written statement.
 
The contract announced Tuesday is only for the two ships. How Allied Defense Recycling might fare when bidding becomes competitive for dismantling the remaining mothballed vessels has not been determined.
 
For more information on Allied Defense Recycling, which also does business as California Dry Dock Solutions, visit http://www.californiadrydock.com/.
Source: By Jessica A. York / Times-Herald, Vallejo
November 9, 2010 3:58 PM
http://www.thereporter.com/ci_16571681

http://georgemiller.house.gov/2010/11/ship-scrapping-jobs-coming-to-mare-island.shtml