Only 2 million dwt of ship capacity was recycled in Q1 2024, according to trade association Bimco. ‘Over the past eight quarters, ship recycling of bulkers, tankers and container ships has dropped to the lowest level in 20 years,’ it reports.
Ship recycling experts will discuss the future of the sector at a dedicated conference, The Ship Recycling Lab, in Lisbon, Portugal, on 9-10 October.
Crackdown on beaching
The event will be hosted by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which fights against beaching, the practice of scrapping ships on Asian beaches with inadequate standards and other standards. It reports that 127 ships were dismantled in the first three months of the year. While fewer vessels are being scrapped at sub-standard facilities in Southeast Asia, it is still common practice.
To see that Økokrim [Norway’s national authority for tackling economic and environmental crime], as well as other European enforcement agencies, are not dupes and now hold ship owners accountable for illegal waste trade is encouraging,’ says Ingvild Jenssen, founder of Shipbreaking Platform.
Forward thinking needed
The group wants the Lisbon conference to help change the tide with Jenssen calling for visionary solutions for ship recycling. ‘The Lab’ will bring together stakeholders from the maritime, recycling and steel sectors, financial institutions and policy makers.
Jenssen says it is vital to promote companies that have developed solutions, including innovative cutting techniques and clean steel breakthrough technologies. The event intends to set the bar for tomorrow’s ship recycling.
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Source: Recyclinginternational
