SHIP DEMOLITION

Quarterly bulletin of information and analysis on ship demolition

From April 1st to June 30th 2014.

A huge market. 263 ships, 2 million tons of metal, 1 billion US$.

Of the 74 vessels whose shipowner is based in the European Union or in an EFTA state (European Free Trade Association) only 5 have been dismantled in Europe. Iceland scraps ships any which way.

Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis, Tuvalu, Comoros, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Moldova, Togo are the preferred flags chosen for the last voyage.

Towing operations of ships towards ship-breaking yards are a critical phase. The Lyubov Orlova and Canada are attributed a black mark whereas the Costa Concordia deserves a gold star.

Subject : towage of the Costa Concordia

Robin des Bois welcomes the achievement of operation Concordia. The NGO believes that is possible to tow the wreck with minimal risks. The final destination which was ultimately decided by the Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Matteo Renzi reinforces Robin des Bois’ positive assessment. Genoa was once an important ship-breaking yard for vessels at the end of their life and was, amongst all the options evoked over the last year, the most logical option with the best safeguards for a positive end to the demolition of the Concordia.

bulletin of information and analysis on ship demolition

The genealogical investigation of Robin des Bois and the comparison of photos of the Zanoobia and the Cosette show that it is very well the same ship. The Zanoobia is some sort of funder of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. France and Martinique have inherited a historic wreck. The French authorities hesitate between the scuttling and the dumping at sea or demolition. The first option is currently being used in the French overseas territories; the last would be an innovation.

Only in French.

Only in French.

Ship-breaking # 34, Robin des Bois’s bulletin of information and analysis on ship demolition.

Overview November-December 2013.

Shock photos of the beaching for demolition of an ex tanker on Gadani Beach, Pakistan.

– The beaching of Luno in Bayonne, the TK Bremen the other way round (Lorient, 2011).

– The Port of Sète is scrapping reluctantly.

– The awful story of a Lebanese cattle carrier

– The German gas tankers choose Alang as ultimate Bay of Refuge.

– Rosatom is saving Sevmorput,-the Russian nuclear-powered cargo ship- from demolition.

Unable to tow the Victoriaborg (*) to Saint Malo port of refuge, the salvage tug Christos XXII had yet won fame in the Channel Sea. Exactly one year ago, the Greek tug was towing a German training ship, the Emsstrom, bound to a Turkish ship-breaking yard.

The towed Emsstrom collided with Christos XXII following a wrong move of the latter off Torbay along the Devon coastline. Emsstrom took on water after the collision and sunk.

Christos XXII took on water too. The eight crewmen were evacuated and the salvage tug had to be towed and stationed in the Weymouth Bay. An oil spill was feared. The incident happened in January 2013.

Container ships on the rise

With 1119 ships broken up this year, 2013 confirms the good health of the ship-breaking industry. The rhythm appeared to have noticeably slowed down compared to an outstanding year 2012 – decrease of 16% in number of ships demolished and 20% in tonnage of metal recycled – but 2013 is still by far the 2nd best year for the industry since 2006, start-up of the Ship-breaking bulletin (293 ships). The total tonnage of metal recycled in 2013 exceeds 9 millions. The volume of waste produced by the demolition of ships amounts to around 500.000 t.

N°1

The Russian tuna seiner Marginella has been immobilized at Cherbourg since July 2007. After leaving Kaliningrad (Russia), she was heading towards South Africa via Ghana to fish bluefin and tropical tuna, under dubious conditions in regard with the conformity to the regulations of ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas). She suffered outbreaks of fire in the machinery space in the North Sea and the English Channel, resulting in a total propulsion failure. She had to be towed to port by Abeille Liberté.

with Victor Hugo’s Wave and ships crippled by the tsunami,

with the risky traffic of river barges from Northern Europe to Nigeria,

with the return to the stage of the conductor with the delivery to India of the ex-aircraft carrier Clemenceau,

with China taking the ship-breakers’ lead,

with the end of two Russian vessels specialized in wood and nuclear cargoes,

with Japanese sail and diesel-powered ships leaving for demolition anonymously

and with the portraits and profiles of 271 vessels broken up from August 1st to October 31^st