Decarbonisation And Shipping: Ship Recycling - A Changing Landscape

• Published date: 26 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Environment, Environmental Law, Waste Management
• Law Firm: Hill Dickinson
• Author: Ms Rachel Hoyland, Trudie Protopapas and Christina Petroulia

As the drive to decarbonise shipping gains increasing momentum, and as incentives and pressure on shipowners to operate more efficient and greener ships mounts, a related spike in early retirement of ships difficult to decarbonise and which are losing favour in the market, may result. Consequently, decarbonisation of shipping may drive a boom in ship disposal. But would this support or detract from the overarching goal of reducing damaging impact to the environment and climate?

In this article we consider the past and ongoing environmental issues surrounding ship disposal, provide a summary of the main regulations which seek to address these problems and take a look at the emerging landscape of ship recycling as a life-cycle consideration and not just an end-of-life concern.

We also consider the implications of recent action against owners and buyers, as was the case in the Tide Carrier, North Sea Producer and the Dutch case involving Seatrade which suggests that courts and regulators are taking a closer look at the practices around end-of-life vessels.

Environmental concerns

Ships are large objects that cannot easily be 'thrown away'. Historically, ships at the end of their ocean-going lives have tended to be either repurposed (for example as storage units, prisons or nightclubs), abandoned, sunk or broken up and then disposed of in smaller parts, some of which may be recycled.

When compared to sinking or abandonment of old ships, shipbreaking and recycling is by far the most environmentally-friendly and economically sound option, as it ensures proper management of hazardous material and the reuse of valuable resources such as steel, iron, aluminium and plastics. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of shipbreaking operations are handled in a safe and clean manner. Shipbreaking is a heavy and hazardous industry that exposes workers and the environment to a number of risks, for instance workers are often required to work at height or in confined spaces, with little or no PPE, and ship structures contain numerous toxic materials such as asbestos, PCBs, oil residues, organic waste, heavy metals, and toxic paints.

In 2017, according to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, 543 ships, representing 80 percent of the world's end-of-life tonnage, were broken under rudimentary and sub-standard conditions on the beaches of Alang in India, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Gadani in Pakistan.

Studies in some of these areas have shown that the pollution caused by shipbreaking can negatively impact local ecosystems due to the increased presence of heavy metals and micro-plastics. For example, the studies observed increased numbers of harmful bacteria and reduced ecologically...