Hassan 1 mystery : solved
Simon, from North Lincolnshire, UK, has identified the mystery-ship Hassan 1 beached for demolition in Pakistan (Cf Ship-breaking # 37, p 27): she is actually the ex-Chariot Bulker, a bulk carrier built in 1977 in Japan.
Hassan 1 is no longer a mystery. She is no stranger either. In 1999, her name was Maria K. On December 10th, 1999, she left the port of Saint-Nazaire (France) bound for England. She came back to Saint-Nazaire the day after due to bad weather conditions and was anchored there. She then dragged her anchor, was not loaded and represented a hazard and a pollution risk in case she hit the sea bottom. A pilot boat was supporting her, a harbor tug from the port of Saint-Nazaire, the Saint-Denis, was ready to take action.
Ship-breaking # 37
July / August / September 2014
A wondrous World Tour
– Pakistan pulls ahead of the pack (p 9).
– 6 genetically modified ships depart for the scrapyard (p 3).
– 8 giant Russian predators leave the fleet (p 11).
– A rotten egg for the US Navy: the dismantling of the USS Saratoga delayed by a brood of Peregrine falcons (p 7).
– Radioactive waste scrapped in the United Kingdom (p 61).
– Mexican tanker towed over 22,000 km to be broken up (p 62).
Ship-breaking # 36
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.
