The Onyx is a car ferry which has 30 years of service in Scandinavia under her belt. She was considered as waste by Finland’s Environmental Authority, but as any waste is considered recoverable according to the doctrine of sustainable development she was bought by an Indian ship owner, Prayati Shipping PVT. This company initially claimed that the ex-Casino Express will be used to transport cars in the Middle East and in a second statement that she will undergo transformations in Turkey with the intention of keeping her in service.

Without any drumming up, Germany, pioneer in Europe on the application of nuclear energy to power vessels, has let the ex Otto Hahn leave to be manually demolished in Alang bay India. She was launched in 1967 and represents the symbol of failure concerning the first wave of nuclear powered merchant ships. The Otto Hahn was reconverted into a conventional cargo vessel in 1980. The nuclear reactor of 38 MW was removed, yet it is legitimate to suspect that after having been exploited for thirteen years structural elements were exposed to uncontrolled radiation or radioactive releases. In August 1973 the vessel was the victim of a major accident when two fuel elements of the reactor broke.

Without any drumming up, Germany, pioneer in Europe on the application of nuclear energy to power vessels, has let the ex Otto Hahn leave to be manually demolished in Alang bay India. She was launched in 1967 and represents the symbol of failure concerning the first wave of nuclear powered merchant ships. The Otto Hahn was reconverted into a conventional cargo vessel in 1980. The nuclear reactor of 38 MW was removed, yet it is legitimate to suspect that after having been exploited for thirteen years structural elements were exposed to uncontrolled radiation or radioactive releases. In August 1973 the vessel was the victim of a major accident when two fuel elements of the reactor broke.

After being laid up for several years in Trinidad in the Caribbeans, the ex Oiseau des Iles built by the French shipyard Dubigeon in Nantes in 1935 was sent to be demolished.

The valuable and moving history of this gem of naval construction ranges from the Loire Estuary to the West Indies passing by the South Ocean to French Polynesia and the west coast of Mexico.

Global statement 2009 of vessels sent to demolition :

For four years, Robin des Bois has been studying the demolition market via the mobilisation and the analysis of over thirty different bibliographical sources. Robin des Bois counted 293 vessels sold for demolition in 2006, 288 in 2007 and 456 in 2008. In 2009, 1,006 vessels have left the waters, representing more than twice the 2008 total and three times the 2006 total. The total weight of recycled metal reached more than 8.2 million tons, five times the total amount of 2006.