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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to Ship dismantling:
Ship dismantling is done to recover and recycle the materials used in construction of the ships,
and also to dispose the hazardous waste as per the rules. As a ship gets older, its operational costs
increase on account of increase in fuel consumption, requirements of spare parts and corrosion
protection. Due to wear and tear during its operational life, the structural integrity of a ship is also
compromised. After 20 – 25 years of operations a ship becomes uneconomical and unsafe to operate.
When a ship reaches this stage it becomes necessary to discontinue operating the ship and recover
and recycle the material‘s used in its construction. The ship recycling industry performs this function.
By recycling the construction materials and components, the demand for natural resources for
producing the same materials is drastically reduced with consequent reduction in pollution.
It needs to be noted that different names such as breaking, recycling, dismantling or
scrapping are used by different stakeholders depending on their interests (Stuer-Lauridsen et al.,
2004). The purpose of the present study is to stay as objective as possible towards the energy
consumption for a ship dismantling yard and a single ship. For that reason the term ‗ ship dismantling‘
will be used throughout the whole project, without that implying that any side is supported more than
others.
1.1.1 Types of ships:
A ship can be defined as a vessel of any type whatsoever operating under its own power or
otherwise in the marine environment, including hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, and
submersibles, floating craft, and fixed or floating platforms, and a vessel that has been stripped of
equipment, or is towed.
The Ministry of Steel in pursuance to Supreme Court of India directive brought ‗ Draft Comprehensive
Code on Ship Recycling Regulations‘. This code defines the ship as a vessel and other floating
structures for breaking. Ship ceases to be a ship once bill of entry for home consumption is filed with
the customs declaring it as cargo (for Demolition). It is suggested that this definition must be followed
in the interest of Indian ship breaking yards.
Based on their use, ships may be categorized as commercial, fishing, and military vessels.
Commercial vessels in turn can be broadly classified as cargo, passenger and special purpose ships.
Fishing vessels can be made a subset of commercial vessels. However, their size is very small.
Military or naval vessels can be categorized as warships, submarines, support and auxiliary vessels,
combat vessels, battleships and many others. Yields vary with the category of ship, and also with the
environmental concerns. Thus it is important to understand the categories of ships. Some of these
ship categories are discussed below:
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Cargo Ships: These transport dry and liquid cargo. Dry cargo is carried in bulk carriers, container
ships, and general cargo ships. Liquid cargo is generally carried in bulk abroad in chemical tankers,
oil tankers and LNG tankers.
Bulk Carriers: Used to carry ore, grains, cattle, phosphates, coal, soya beans, China clay, etc.
General Cargo Ships: These carry all types of products such as big bags (containing food productslike cocoa and coffee beans) and large machine parts except products or liquids in bulk. These ships
are increasingly replaced by container ships.
Container Ships: These ships carry medicines, food products, machinery, powder chemicals,
household appliances and computers. Container ships are considered as an important means of
transport for the future and its major advantage is its handling efficiency.
Chemical Tankers: They carry liquids like Sulphuric acid, Phosphoric acid, Phenols, etc. They also
carry products like molasses and edible oils like palm oil, vegetable oils.
Oil Tankers: These are of two types — crude and product tankers. Crude tankers carry large
quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, on the other
hand, are designed to move petrochemicals from refineries to points near consuming markets.
LNG Tankers: These ships are designed to transport Liquefied Natural Gas.
Passengers: Passenger ships range in size from small river ferries to giant cruise ships. These can
be categorized as ferries, ocean liners and cruise ships. These ships carry passengers and can sail
on much longer as the ships are maintained in a good condition.
Cruise Ships: These are used for pleasure voyages. Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that
return passengers to their originating port.
Ferries: Ferries are used to transport freight (Lorries and containers) and even railroad cars. Most
ferries operate on regular, frequent and return services. These also form the part of public transport
systems of many waterside cities and islands.
Ocean Liners: These are designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular
long-distance maritime routes according to the schedule. These are strongly built with high freeboards
to withstand sea states and adverse conditions encountered in the Open Ocean and stores large
capacities of fuel, victuals and other stores, which could be consumed on voyages which take several
days to weeks.
Special Purpose Vessels (SPV): These ships are designed to perform specific tasks and include
tugboats, pilot boats, rescue boats, cable ships, research vessels, survey vessels and ice breakers.
Drill Ships: These are fitted with drilling apparatus for exploratory drilling of new oil or gas wells in
deep waters. Drill ships can drill in water depths of over 2000 metres.
War Ships: These ships carry weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew.
Fishing Vessels: These vessels are used for fishing in the sea, lake or river. Different kinds of
vessels are used for commercial and recreational fishing. Based on the type of fish, fishing method,
and geographical origin there are different categories of fishing vessels.
Ship dismantling is an inseparable part of the shipping business. For as long as ships
have existed, ‗ ship dismantling‘, has been the way ships ended their lives if they are not lost at the
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sea. Compared to ship building, ship breaking is a rough business. Most of the world‘s ship breaking
industry uses manual labour to dismantle ships.
In the 18th century, ships were sold to a breaker for recovery of spare parts, firewood, iron
and brass parts for continued use in new ships or for re-melting. Everything was reused in some way.
The economics of the system was very straightforward - the owner receives money for his ship; the
breaker receives enough money for his scrap to pay his expenses and make a profit. Dismantling of
vessels was a common scene at the ports, especially throughout Southern Europe from the late
1940s to the 1960s.
Till early 1980‘s vessels were scrapped in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. However, for the last 25
years, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have been the global centres for ship breaking Industry. Here,
the ships are scrapped directly on the beaches or the vast inter-tidal mudflats exposed daily by about
10m tidal gauge. The beaching method of the Indian sub-continent relies heavily on low labour cost,
since it involves very little mechanisation.
Each year between 200 and 600 sea-going ships of over 2,000 dead weight tonnage (dwt)
are dismantled worldwide. This number may significantly increase, if the decision on replacement of
single hull tankers comes into effect.
Single hull tankers are more likely than double hull vessels to rupture and break up, and spill
oil into the sea. As per the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, single hull tankers
are phased out or converted to a double hull after certain age for the prevention of oil spills and
pollution from ships. The double hull is designed to reduce the risk of oil spills from tankers involved inlow energy collisions or groundings during the most critical part of a voyage.
A ship consists mostly of steel. Consequently, at the end of its useful life, it becomes a
sought-after source of ferrous scrap particularly suited for reprocessing into simple steel products
such as steel rods used in civil construction. The geographical migration of scrapping locations
mirrors the global industrial economic development. It seeks areas providing:
Sea beach
Demand for scrap steel for reprocessing
Demand for second-hand equipment and
Supply of low-cost labour to carry out the labour-intensive extraction process
The vast majority of waste stream generated following the demolition or scrapping process is
largely returned to good use. Usable equipment such as pumps, motors, valves, generators, etc., is
sold out which finds alternative applications and the scrap steel is reprocessed. The latter, as an
alternative to steel production from ore, represents a significant savings in energy consumption
perspective. Ship-scrapping is truly a sustainable activity from a resource utilization point-of-view.
Steel scrap obtained from tankers that have large flat panels is comparatively of higher quality. In
developing countries, the scrap is simply heated and re-rolled into concrete reinforcing rods for sale to
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the construction industry, but this may not meet the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standard. Re-
rolled steel is also ideal for sewage projects, metal rods and agricultural needs. In the advanced
countries, scrap is completely melted down to make fresh steel.
Non-ferrous items like diesel engines, generators, deck cranes, compasses and other fixtures
also offer lucrative returns when resold. Again the market for such items is more readily available in
developing countries than in developed countries where technical standards are more demanding and
refurbishing costs are higher.
On the flip side, ship-scrapping is not so user-friendly when the means adopted are
considered and the consequences it generates are compared with respect to occupational safety,
health and environment. The extent of damage caused by ship-scrapping to the environment and to
the livelihood of the fishermen, peasants that share the environment, and to the lives and health of
workers involved in these activities would include:
Costs for loss of livelihood
Clean up costs for polluted sediments
Costs for asbestos liabilities
Medical and compensation costs for losing the ability to work
Medical and compensation costs for deaths and diseases caused by exposure to toxic
substances, etc.
1.1.2 Why do they become obsolete vessels?
Economic and social changes:
The growth and development of roads and rail systems impacted on shipping and reduced the size of
coastal fleets. The effects of the Great Depression or two World W ars directly influenced the fate of
many vessels.
Technological changes:
Developments in propulsion technology from sail to steam and later to diesel, caused many vessels to
be scrapped. Developments in ship construction, materials and design also affected a vessel's "use-by date".
Disrepair:
Hull deterioration and other effects of age have caused many vessels to be scrapped as unseaworthy.
Misfortune:
Accidental damage from collision, running aground or being dismasted in storms led many owners to
dispose of their vessels through salvage rather than undergo costly repairs.
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1.2. Energy consumption
1.2.1 Definition:
Energy is one of the major inputs for the economic development of any country. The global need for
energy is increasing on an average by about 1.5% every year. The Criteria for Classification of
Energy is:
Primary energy and secondary energy
Commercial and non-commercial energy
Renewable and non-renewable.
1.2.2 Types of energy
Primary and Secondary Energy:
Primary energy refers to all types of energy extracted or captured directly from natural
resources.
Primary Energy Content of all the fuel is expressed as toe (tonne of oil equivalent). (1toe = 10
x 106 kCal = 11630 kWh = 41870 MJ)
Further Classified into
Renewable (solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, biomass etc.)
Non-renewable (fossil fuels: crude oil and its products, coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc.) Secondary Energy Sources are derivatives from Primary Energy Sources. (ex: electricity,
steam etc.)
Major Primary and Secondary Energy Sources:
Commercial Energy:
Energy that is available in the market for a definite price.
Ex.: electricity, coal, refined petroleum products and natural gas.
Non-Commercial Energy:
Energy which is sourced within a community and its surrounding area, and which is not
normally traded in the commercial market.
Ex: Firewood and agro waste in rural areas, solar energy for water heating, electricity
generation, and for drying grain, fish and fruits; animal power for transport, threshing, lifting
water for irrigation, crushing sugarcane etc.; wind energy for lifting water and electricity
generation.
Non-Renewable and Renewable Energy:
Renewable energy is the energy obtained from natural sources which are essentially inexhaustible.
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be produced, grown, replenished, or
used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate.
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Fig 1.1 Major primary and energy sources
Fig 1.2 Renewable energy
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Fig 1.3 Non-Renewable energy
1.2.3 Why study of energy is required:
Energy use by people provides enormous benefits, but harmful side-effects are involved, and
new challenges are created as energy use continues to grow. The challenges are varied and a variety
of approaches is called for to address them. Overall, energy consumption is growing slowly with the
population. Two major uses are growing rapidly, which are electricity and petroleum use. Moreover, in
the industrializing, or third world, these two kinds of use are growing extremely rapidly. Thus when we
consider adequacy of resources, cost of facilities and environmental damage in the point of view of
energy, we should keep in mind the increasing pressure due to population and industrial development
and the growth in energy consumption.
There are many reasons to be interested in energy consumption, which gives a measure of
use of energy. Of which are most important like respond to its challenges, to Improve performance by
industries in a sustainable development perspective accomplished only by implementing the energy
conservation, to analyse whether we are running out of energy, capital costs, to study environmental
impacts, keeping energy options open, to meet the challenges of dwindling resources, analysis offossil resources, co2 emissions, develop renewables.
1.2.4 Energy consumption of a ship:
Through the whole life-cycle of a ship, there is energy consumption related to each
stage; the shipbuilding process, the operational life of a ship and finally the dismantling and recycling
of the ship, also usually referred to as ship recycling or ship breaking. From the different stages of a
ship‘s life, there has been a lot of attention driven recently to the final stage of ship dismantling and
recycling.
Whole world has started the revolution of sustainable development, and green concept.
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The standard definition of sustainable development, suggested in 1987 conference in United
States and universally accepted is ―Sustainable entities are those that meet present needs without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs ” .
Another definition of sustainability from the Environmental Protection Agency:
“ Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can
exist in productive harmony that permits fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of
present and future generations” .
Avoidance of environmental degradation is a primary aspect of sustainable development.
Environment includes atmosphere, the oceans and earth. In case of ships it means use of sustainable
energy – renewable, alternative, green or low-carbon energy, and reduction of pollution due to ship
operation, accidents, construction, dismantling and recycling and preservation of coastal zone.
Therefore, as defined in the above paragraph about the energy consumption, in order to develop
Sustainability, it is required to contribute through the maritime also. Also any development using
sustainable energy must be economically acceptable, involved and new challenges are created as
energy use continues to grow.
1.2.5. Energy consumption in ship dismantling yard:
Ship dismantling yard:
In order to arrive at the energy expenditure for the ship dismantling yard, the energy
consumption in the various aspects is to be identified.
To determine the amount of energy expended for the yard, practises followed in the
ship dismantling yard, and the various types of energy used is to be understood. Therefore the visit to
Alang ship recycling yard has been done, quantity of energies used and its consumption has been
measured for the entire shipyard. It will be discussed briefly in the following chapters.
The energy consumption of a ship dismantling yard to extract one tonne of steel will be
calculated and energy saved by contributing steel form ship will be presented.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Publications available in this field have been reviewed in the following areas viz.,Infrastructure for
dismantling yards & methods of dismantling, Guidelines, codes ®ulations regarding ship recycling
activities, Environmental & safety aspects of ship recycling. The review and comments are given
under various subheadings subsequently.
2.2 GUIDELINES, CODES AND REGULATIONS IN SHIP RECYCLING
Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling:
The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No.657 of 1995 in the matter of Research
Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy. The petitioner versus the Union
of India and other Respondents had issued directions on 6-09-2007, for various stakeholders to
undertake safe and environmentally sound ship recycling in India. With this, directions were also
made for the Government of India to formulate a comprehensive Code for ship recycling,
incorporating the recommendations of the Technical Experts Committee (TEC) appointed by it. The
ship breaking matters presently falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Steel; hence the Ministry
of Steel has taken upon the responsibility of preparing the Code. It is mandatory to be followed by all
involved in ship recycling.
2.3 Marine Environment Protection Committee and IMO Resolutions
IMO Resolution A962 (23) IMO guidelines on Ship Recycling., adopted on 5 December 2003
(Agenda item 19) is the most significant document prepared by IMO regarding ship recycling.
Resolution A.981(24), 2005 is another resolution adopted by IMO regarding legally binding
regulations to be implemented in various life cycle stages of the ships, ship recycling yards and
enforcement of ship recycling reporting and certification. These resolutions are outcome of
deliberations made during the meetings of Marine Environment Protection Committee, working group
of IMO on global environmental issues. MEPC 42, 1998 to MEPC 61, 2010 has discussed the ship
recycling issue with proper importance and seriousness.
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IMO Resolution A962 (23) has envisaged the process of recycling in general, as one of the basic
principles of sustainable development. The document has mentioned that for the disposal of all ‘time-
expired‘ ships there are few alternatives to recycling. This can be considered as a well-focused
extension of the proposals put forward by the London convention 1972 (Dumping of waste and
marine pollution) regarding recycling of steel by converting into other utility structures. Theresolution has categorically stated that recycling is the best option for all time-expired tonnage and
firmly assert that in the process of recycling ships, virtually nothing goes as waste. The resolution
has identified ship recycling as green industry if the guidelines are followed in its true spirit. However,
the guidelines have recognized that, although the principle of ship recycling may be sound, the
working practices and environmental standards in the yards often leave much to be desired. The
resolutions have affirmed that the ultimate responsibility for conditions in the yards has to lie with the
country in which these are situated and other active stake holders.
IMO [2009] has pointed out the need for preparing ship recycling plan by the concerned shiprecycler performing the assigned operations and the basic issue of Green Passport extended
over the life cycle stages by the ship owners. IMO has mentioned the importance of implementing
best practices for ship recycling process for the first time in this convention. Also the active
collaborative efforts by the relevant United Nations agencies and conventions dealing with ship
recycling have been reasserted in the convention report.
2.4 UNEP – Basel Convention Guidelines
Basel [2005] has dealt with identification of potential hazardous material onboard and method to
prevent the haphazard handling of these materials. The Basel convention [2005] recommendation
stresses the need of best practices to be followed in ship recycling process. The recommendations
have focused more on environmental control procedures at ship dismantling yards by picking each
and every potentially hazardous material present onboard.
2.5 Environmental Protection Agency (USA) Recommendations
US EPA [2000] has prepared a very comprehensive document regarding regulatory measures to be
implemented in the United States ship dismantling yards. This document is the most extensive
document dealing ship recycling issues related to pollution and hazards. The content of guidelines
has dealt mainly with handling of hazardous materials onboard. Identification, handling and
management of main hazardous wastes such as asbestos, PCB paint bilge and ballast water , waste
water and oil and fuel have been described in a very detailed manner. This document has also
thrown light on practices involved in metal cutting, managing scrap and removal and disposal of ships
machinery.
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2.6 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Guidelines
[ILO 2004] has provided guidelines on ship recycling which has focused mainly on worker safety and
health during ship dismantling. The ILO documents on ship recycling mainly have dealt with
the health and safety of the labour work force employed in ship recycling yards. The
guidelines have covered general safe ship breaking operations, involving manual labour, safety
requirements for tools, machines and equipment.
2.7 Regional Rules and Regulations
2.7.1 Gujarat Maritime Board
Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is the governing body of world‘s largest ship recycling
destination. GMB has its own rules which can be considered as local rules. GMB has formulated
certain rules regarding handling and disposal of asbestos and waste oil. The transportation and
disposal of solid waste also has been brought under the preview of these rules.
2.7.2 Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India has given historic ruling in connection with denial or permission for
infamous French Aircraft Carrier, Clemenssau, to Alang Ship Recycling Yard. The
Supreme Court of India has given some strict guidelines regarding ship recyc ling activities in
India. These guidelines are very general in nature and more specific rules have to be formulated for
actual implementation at the recycling yards.
2.7.3 Departments of Trade & Industry and Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, U.K
Rules and regulations related to decommissioning of offshore installations, ships and pipelines in the
United Kingdom have been started by the end of last millennium.[UK 1998] Two different
government departments have prepared separate guidelines regarding ship recycling in UK.
These documents prepared by the Department of Trade and Industries, United Kingdom and though
these guidelines prepared are for dealing with offshore structures, the same can be very useful in ship
recycling context also. Separate guidelines have been provided for heavy and light structures.
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Notes have been provided for concrete structures used in offshore installations considering special
characteristics associated with it. Another UK government body, Department of Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs has prepared a similar ship recycling document [UK 2007]. This has spoken
about the UK ship recycling strategy in detail.
2.7.4 MARISEC, London
Industry Code of Practice on Ship Recycling [MARISEC 2001] is general purpose ship recycling
guidelines. These guidelines have been prepared by the Industry Working Party on Ship
Recycling working under Marisec which is a consortium of number of international maritime
agencies, operating from London. The working group on ship recycling is under the
coordination of International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). The ship recycling in codes are given in
the book titled ―Industry Code of Practice on Ship recycling‖. European Union council regulations
No.259/93 has been referred in this as the supporting document. Content of this code is of
promotional nature and the code calls for voluntary kind of participation by the ship recycling and
other interested maritime industries in clean and safe recycling activities in recycling
destinations of the world. It is the only document which strongly speaks about necessity for an
efficient and concrete ‗ Industry Policy on Ship Recycling‘.
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CHAPTER 3
SHIP DISMANTLING PROCESS
3.1 Shipbreaking around the world At present, the global centre of the ship breaking and recycling industry is in South Asia, specifically
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. These three countries account for 70 –80 percentage of the
international recycling market for ocean-going vessels, with China and Turkey covering most of the
remaining market. Only about 5 percent of global volume is scrapped outside these five countries.
The five recycling countries share a common characteristic in having a large appetite for scrap steel.
Bangladesh, Pakistan and to a large extent India use the steel from recycled ships in mills where
steel is rerolled so that it can be used directly, for example in urban construction. It is understood that
China and Turkey mostly melt the ship scrap. It is notable that Turkey, which is alleged to be the
largest importer of scrap steel in the world, satisfies just 2% of its needs with scrap from its ship
recycling industry. Equivalent figures for the contribution of steel from ship recycling to the steel
production of the country, according to the World Bank, is 50% for Bangladesh and 15% for
Pakistan, while the figure for India is understood to be between 5% and 6%.
China and India each command around 30% of the world‘s recycling capacity, while Bangladesh‘s
capacity is around 25%. Pakistan and Turkey each command 9% and 2%, respectively. These
capacity figures are based on an analysis by IMO covering the last ten years.
The fact that there is very little ship recycling activity in Europe is often explained in terms of the
inability of Europe to compete with the low labour costs and low compliance costs of South Asia.
During 2012, 1309 vessels reported for disposal at total deadweight of about 61mil tons. Ship owners
scrapped a total of 1,119 ships over the course of 2013.
The ship breaking industry in South Asia has been under pressure because of alleged abuse of the
environment and occupational health hazards. It is seen as a polluting industry that has adverse
effects on the ecosystem and human lives, particularly the workers. Enforcement of regulations in the
ship breaking industry is weak. Ship breaking activity is associated with dirty jobs, numerous deadly
accidents, insecure labour, environmental injustice, and violation of human rights.
Virtually every country in the world is involved in some ship rec ycling activities. Often, this is
done as a service for disposing smaller ships which might otherwise be abandoned in ports,
or even sunk. In a few countries however the recycling of ships is done on a commercially
sustainable basis and on an industrial s cale. There, recycling companies purchase ships
from the international market and recycle them for profit by extracting and selling the ships‘
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G r o s s
steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery, equipment, fittings, and furniture.
The web based publication World Casualty Statistics, by IHS Fairplay, provides in April/May of
each year statistical data on the number and tonnage (gross tonnage) of the ships recycled
in the preceding year by country of recycling. Using this data, the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) produced an analysis showing, for the last ten years, the tonnages of
recycled ships by country of recycling. The analysis provides data for 82 countries that
are recycling ships, with some admittedly achieving very small tonnages. Five of the 82
countries, however, have recycled consistently an average of 97% to 98% per cent of all
tonnage recycled in the world. They are in the order of capacity: India, China,
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey. Each of the top three recycling States, India, China, and
Bangladesh, has a large share of the world's recycling capacity (i.e. between 24% and
31%), while Pakistan and Turkey have smaller but increasing shares of the world's
capacity (around 11% and 4%). Turkey, which is the smallest of the top five recycling
States, recycles more tonnage than the rest of the world (when excluding the top five
recycling States). This information is shown in Table 3.1(Data by INS-Fairplay) and
graphically in Figure 3.1.
Table 3.1 Annual ship recycling volume of the largest ship recycling countries and
graph plotted is shown below
(source IHS
Fairplay)
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The most appropriate statistical quantity for ship recycling is the lightweight ton (LDT), because
this gives a direct estimate of the steel scrap content of the ships in question and at the same time
it provides commercially useful information, as virtually all recycling sale & purchase transactions
are conducted on the basis of prices per LDT. Nevertheless, the international databases containing
particulars of the world‘s fleet (e.g. IHS Fairplay) have very limited information on LDT and for thatreason IMO has utilized gross tonnage (GT), which in any case is the traditional measure of
tonnage in shipping, especially in the regulatory world.
In order, however, to produce the overview of the contribution the ship recycling industry makes to
steel production, the author requested annual LDT data from the top five ship recycling associations.
The data shown in figure 4 was provided in time for the preparation by the four associations and
shipping agents in Pakistan.
FIG. 3.2 LDT volumes of recycled tonnage
Ignoring the (2% to 3%) contribution from recycling outside the top five recycling countries, the data
shown in figure 4 provide an estimate for the global volume of recycled LDT varying between 2.1 and
12.2 million tons, with an average annual of 7.3 million LDT tons.
Assuming, as mentioned in the last section, that steel scrap recovered from recycled ships is
around 75% to 85% of a ship‘s LDT, we obtain an estimate of the steel recovered annually from the
recycling of ships of between 1.7 to 9.8 million tonnes, with an annual average of 5.8 million tonnes of
steel scrap.
Assuming that in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan 50% of the recovered steel scrap is melted for the
production of new steel, while in China and Turkey 90% is melted (with the remaining being re-rolled
or reused), we can thus obtain estimates of the total contribution ship recycling makes to the
generation of old (melting) steel scrap. This is shown in Figure 5, which, over the depicted six year
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period, yields between 1.0 to 6.0 million tonnes a year, with an average of 3.6 million tonnes of ship
steel melting scrap a year.
As the period under review, covering 2007 to 2012, includes both low and high ship recycling activity
periods, the above statistics are probably representative of the longer period.
FIG.3.3 Estimates of ship steel scrap for melting
The data presented under section ―Usage of steel scrap in steel production‖ indicated a current
annual requirement of around 225 million tonnes of old steel scrap The annual average of 3.6 million
tonnes of melting steel scrap from the global ship recycling industry therefore covers around 1.5% of
the needs of the global steel making industry for old steel scrap.
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3.2 World fleet statistics 2013:
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 500.000t.
Ship Breaking
statistics 2013
IN UNITS IN %
1
INDIA
347
31
2 CHINA 239 21
3 BANGLADESH 211 19
4 TURKEY 136 12
5 PAKISTAN 104 9
6 DENMARK 19 2
7 OTHERS 63 6
1119 100
Table3.2 and FIG 3.4 Ship breaking statistics 2013
Ship Breaking statistics 2013
DENMARK OTHERS
PAKISTAN2% 6%
9%
TURKEY
12%
BANGLADESH
19%
INDIA
31%
CHINA
21%
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667 of the broken up ships (60%) have been previously detained with their crew for non-compliance
to the international safety regulations. Port state controls play their full part in the cleansing of the
world fleet.
327 ships (29%) measured over 200 m in length; 39 ships over 300 m have been demolished in 2013
compared to 31 in 2012 and 24 in 2011.
The giants have started heading for the ship-breaking yards. The average age of ships leaving the
ocean is getting younger: 28 years in 2013, 31 years in 2006.
The problems of container ships, beast of burden of globalization. The number of scrapped container
ships is again on the rise. They account for 16% of the vessels demolished in 2013 and more than
21% of the tonnage of metal recycled. The typical container ship to be broken up belongs to a
European ship-owner (69%), often a German one (48%).
97% of them have been scrapped in Asia. In every case, the container-ship bound to demolition flies
away from Europe. With an average age of 22 years, the container ship family contributes largely to
the rejuvenation of the fleet to be demolished.
The race for productivity and economies of scale favours the large container ships and pushes the
smaller units towards demolition. The issue of weakness and premature aging of the whole family
arises.
Asia
The Top 5 ship-breaking countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Turkey, Pakistan) have received 92%
of the total number of ships broken up (1029 ships).
India saved its leadership in terms of units as well as tonnage, ahead of Bangladesh and China, but
suffered a fall of 35% in its activity; in 2013, its relative share dropped to 26% compared to 40% in
2012. The other major ship-breaking countries saw a decline of 10% except China where the number
of ships delivered in the scrapyards has been higher (+15%).
Europe
374 ships (33%) were flying a European flag or belonged to companies established in the European
Union or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and 34 % were built in those countries.
The Parliament of the European Union condemned the ―reckless‖ scrapping of old ships flying the flag
of an EU member state. A wishful thinking: in 2013, only 8% of them have been dismantled in Europe.
One in five ships broken up in an Asian scrapyard has been deflagged prior to the last voyage. The
German ship-owners performed brilliantly the art of camouflage with 29% of broken up vessels
deflagged to Comoros, St. Kitts and Nevis, Tuvalu, Sierra Leone or Togo.
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United States
The United States also deflag their ships: the Presidents ‘ fleet – Adams, Polk, Jackson, Truman –
adopted the colors of St. Kitts and Nevis and Sierra Leone prior to their beaching for demolition in
India or Bangladesh.
The ship breaking statistics 2013 in respect of tonnes and by type of category is presented below:
Ship Breaking
statistics 2013
In Tonnes
IN MT/T
1 INDIA 2.9 million tonnes
2 BANGLADESH 2.3 million tonnes
3
CHINA
1.9
million tonnes
4 TURKEY 1.4 million tonnes
5 PAKISTAN 5,14,000 tonnes
6 DENMARK 33,000 tonnes
Table3.3 ship breaking statistics in tonnes 2013
SHIP
BREAKING
STATISTICS-
BY
CATEGORY
1 BULKER 387 35
2 GENERAL
CARGO
245 22
3
CONTAINER
SHIP
180
16
4 TANKER 164 15
5 RO-RO 39 3
6 OTHERS 104 9
1015 100
Table3.4 ship breaking statistics in types of category 2013
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SHIP BREAKING STATISTICS-BY CATEGORY
RO-RO
3%
TANKER
15%
OTHERS
9% BULKER
35%
CONTAINER
SHIP
16% GENERAL
CARGO
22%
FIG. 3.5 ship breaking statistics in types of category 2013
3.3 Life cycle of a vessel:
Table 3.5 life cycle of vessel
The average age of ships leaving the ocean is getting younger: 28 years in 2013, 31 years in 2006.
3.4 Three stages of ship dismantling:
Most of the ship dismantling yard use manual labour to dismantle ships in whatever facilities is
available, often beaching method. Although, it is possible to increase productivity by using
mechanized ship breaking methods, these are capital intensive and require special investment, which
is not easily justified given the small margin in the ship breaking business.
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The process of non-mechanized ship breaking falls into three stages. At, the preparatory stage,
the owners of vessel undertake various operations including stopping up all intake apertures, pumping
out all bilge water. Blocking off intakes and valves, and removing all non-metallic objects together with
potentially explosive gas.
The next stage is to beach the ship and remove large metal structures such as masts, pipes,
superstructures, deck equipment, main engine, ancillary equipment of machinery room,decks,
platforms, transverse bulkheads, propeller shaft bearings, upper hull sections, and bow and stern
sections. The remainder of ship is then hauled or lifted on to dry land by means of slipways, ramps or
drydocks and cut into large sections, or the vessel is simply winched on to the beach. Although this
process can be undertaken satisfactorily on a beach or alongside a quay, the availability of a drydock
is a considerable advantage, in terms of both efficiency and safety.
Finally, the panels and sections obtained from the ship are cut into smaller pieces as required, using
oxy-fuel cutters. The scrap is then assembled for transport to i ts ultimate destination.
3.5 Workers breaking ships:
Three major categories of employees and workers are involved in ship dismantling yard.
1. Regular employees and workers
2. Casual workers supplied by labour supply contracters
3. Specialized workers or experts on contract
Regular employees and workers:
These types of employees and workers are paid monthly wages; including house rent allowance,
medical allowance and conveyance allowance. It includes foremen/supervisors, fitters, gas cutters,
crane operators, truck drivers, rhythmic callers and singers.
Casual workers supplied by labour supply contracters:
It includes truck helpers, semiskilled gas cutters, semi skilled fitters, lifters, loaders, wire pullers,
cutter, loading and wire pulling anchors. They are mostly engaged through labour supplier
contractors, and paid on daily rate basis.
Specialized workers or experts on contract :
It consists of specialist workers such as experts NDT, degassing gangs, specialised welders and gas
cutters, chemical and toxic cargo handlers, garbage handlers, etc.,
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3.6 Ship dismantling scenario:
The term vessel applies to vessels of over 5000 tons and that can navigate in open seas. The overall
ship condition of ship breaking yards especially in south Asian yards are almost the same. Ship
dismantling is done on open yards on beach. They are usually not scientifically or technically
organized or automated and the management is also primitive. The ship dismantling yards look like
temporary arrangements to conduct some seasonal activities, though ship breaking continues round
the year. Workers are not protected by sheds and are required to work under open skies round the
year, in very difficult working conditions exposing themselves to various hazards.
The following government and non-government bodies involved in ship breaking activities but not
necessarily in all the form.
Ministries of port and shipping
Ministries of industries and commerce
Ministries of labour and employment
Department of customs
The navy
Inland water transport authority
Port authority
Radio communication and wireless control authority of government
Shipping masters office
Importers (who import vessels for breaking)
The dismantling yard owners and breakers
Survey authorities
Survey companies
Banks and financial institutions
Shipping agents
Steel re-rolling mills and owners
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Initially, beaching permission was noit necessary. The dismantlers had to maintain only the import
formalities and pay customs duties and taxes. It was observed that the marine stores, life saving and
fire fighting equipment of scrapped vessels which were either obsolete, substandard or not in proper
condition, were sold in the market and re-used in the ships in service, which may cause serious
problems any time during voyages on deep sea.
Therefore, to avoid the problems international framework and policy were also involved into ship
dismantling industry.
International frame work and policies:
The Hong Kong convention
The Basel convention
The position of EU
The international labour organization
NGO platform on ship breaking
Flag state
International ship recycling association (ISRA)
International organization for standardization
The industry working group on ship recycling
MEPC
ISRA
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CHAPTER 4
METHODS OF SHIP DISMANTLING
4.1 Beaching Method:
Beaching is the most common method and is widely used in most places in India, Bangladesh and
Pakistan. In the beaching method, the ships are grounded in the inter- tidal zone, either under their
own power or under tow, during spring tides (i.e. beached). This method requires minimum
infrastructure and level of skill of the workers involved. The only infrastructure required is shore based
winches, crawler cranes and other material handling equipment. The size of the ship to be cut is
restrained only by the tidal range of the beach, its slope (a flat beach is suitable) and material of the
beach (a beach made up of rocks or coarse sand poses problems).
After receiving statutory clearances, removal items, such as insulation, machinery, tools & tackle,
electrical fixtures, furniture, fuel oil etc. are removed. The ships are cut into large pieces, which are
dropped on the beach. These pieces, some weighing hundreds of tones, are either winched to the
shore by shore based winches or carried by crawler cranes to dry land and cut up completely. As the
ship is cut up the remnants (i.e. the partly cut ship) is dragged closer to the shore by shore based
winches to facilitate material handling.
Prior to cutting, which is done by Oxygen-LPG or Oxygen-Acetylene torches, the surface which has to
be cut is stripped of paint by rubbing with wire brushes and the paint chips fall on the beach. Other
debris generated during cutting (metal scales) also fall on the beach. Debris generated during
removal of detachable items fall on the ship‘s decks and usually swept overboard (see Photos 5.a,
5.b) or drop on the beach, when that particular part of the ship is cut and dropped on the
beach. The fallen debris / contaminants quickly mix with the mud / sand of the beach and / or are
dispersed by tidal waters before they can be collected. The floating debris can be transported over
long distances depending on the water currents.
In this method, working is possible during day-light hours only as temporary power supply cables
cannot be installed across long stretches of inter-tidal zone.
Transport of men and material to and from the ships is possible only during low water and this leads
to lower efficiency. Material movement is also difficult as the same has to be carried out across
several hundred metres of beach which may not be composed of material capable of supporting
movement of heavy vehicles / equipment.
Waste waters present on board the ship and effluents generated during ship breaking are directly
pumped overboard as it is very difficult to install pipelines across long stretches of beach to
shore based collection and disposal systems. If there is any spillage of effluents or oil, on the
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FIG. 4.1Ship-breaking in Inter-tidal Zone (Beaching Method)
FIG. 4.2 Ship-breaking in Inter-tidal Zone (Beaching Method)
beach it may not be possible to confine and collect the spilled material. Rising tidal waters enterexposed areas of the ship including bilge spaces, fuel tanks, oil sumps etc. (see Photo 5.c) and
carry away oil / fuel and other solid debris. The oil slicks can travel long distances depending on the
currents.
It has been observed that the inter-tidal zone, where most of the ship breaking activity takes place in
beaching method, becomes highly contaminated.
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FIG.4.3 Partly Cut Ship in Inter-tidal Zone (Beaching Method)
4.2 Berthing Method
Ships are also broken while berthed along quays (as is done at Khidderpur Docks , Kolkata). The
ships are tied up alongside a quay and cut up while still afloat. After removal of detachable items /
material, the ship is cut using oxygen-LPG or oxygen- acetylene torches. Pieces weighing not more
than ~5 t are cut and lowered on to the quay by shore based or ship-board cranes. The cutting should
be carefully planned so that the floating ship does not become unbalanced and capsizes or sags or
hogs. The bottom of the hull is winched on to dry land (beached) for final demolition.
This method requires availability of a quay, facilities for berthing the ship and shore based cranes and
other material handling equipment. The size of the ship to be cut is restrained only by quay length
and navigational restrictions, if any, for reaching the quay. Also land and infrastructure must be
available for beaching the hull bottom.
Compared to the beaching method of ship-breaking the berthing method is more environment friendly.Most of the debris generated on board the ship can be collected and taken ashore for proper disposal.
There is little chance of water entering exposed interiors of the ship and carrying away contaminants.
Some debris does fall into the water. Ship-board effluents can be easily pumped to shore based
treatment systems. If the quay is inside an enclosed dock (e.g. as in Khidderpur dock), floating booms
can encircle the ship which will enable collection of any falling floating debris or spilled oil;
contaminated sediments can also be dredged up and disposed off properly on shore.
Since the ship is berthed along a quay, arrangements for working even at night can be easily made.
Materials removed form ships need to be transported only short distances over proper roads to
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material storage and sorting areas which improves efficiency and consumes less fuel (for transport
vehicles). Casualty evacuation will take minimum time
FIG.4.4 Ship-breaking at Khidderpur D o c k , Kolkata by Berthing.
4.3 Dry-docking Method
Ships are also broken up inside dry-docks (either graving docks or floating docks). The ship is
moved inside a graving dock or a submerged floating dock and properly positioned. In case ofa graving dock, the dock gates are closed and the water is pumped out. In case of a floating dock,
the dock is raised, lifting the ship out of the water. Subsequently the ship is cut up as usual. In this
method also round the clock working is possible.
This method requires a lot of infrastructure in form of the dock and associated infrastructure
and equipment. The size of the ship is also restricted by the dimensions of the dock. On the other
hand this method is most environment friendly as all spillages are confined inside the dock and the
spilled material can be easily collected, sorted if necessary and disposed off properly. However, it is
more economical to use dry-docks for building and repairing ships rather than breaking ships. Dry-
dock method of ship breaking is used only in special cases (such as nuclear powered ships, ships
containing toxic residues) or if enforced by law
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FIG.4.5 Scrapping of Naval Ship in Dry-Dock
4.4 Air Bag Method
In the Air-Bag Method, the ship is winched onto dray land over a slipway made up of inflatable rubber
bags. Once on dry land the ship is settled over a line of keel-blocks and the air bags are removed.
The ship is subsequently cut up in the usual way..
This method requires considerable infrastructure (though not on the scale of dry docks)and highly
skilled personnel for winching the ships on to dry land.
The biggest advantage of this method of ship breaking is that chances of water pollution are greatly
reduced. Fallen debris and contaminated soil of the beach can be easily collected, sorted and
disposed off properly. There is virtually no chance of tidal waters entering exposed areas of the ship
and carrying away solid residues and oil. Ship-board effluents can be easily pumped out to shore
based treatment and or / disposal systems. It is relatively much easier to contain and collect spilled oiland other effluents during pumping operations. Like other methods of ship breaking close to / on dry
land, round the clock working and higher efficiency is attained.
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FIG.4.6 Decommissioned Submarine Being Raised on to Dry Land over Air Bags
FIG.4.6 Passenger ship Being Raised on to Dry Land over Air Bags for Scrapping
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Fig.4.7 Passenger Ship Raised on to Dry Land over Air Bags
4.5 Slip-wayMethod
In the slip-way method also, the ship is winched on to dry land over a concrete / masonry slipway
and cut up on dry land. This method is similar to that of the Air Bag method, except that instead of
a slip made of air bags, the ship is winched onto dry land over a concrete slip way.