Ship recycling

Abstract

Abstract This chapter addresses the recycling of ships, otherwise known as dismantling, ship breaking, scrapping, and demolition. The size and age profile of the world fleet, the conditions that lead to ending the operating life of a ship, and the countries where the recycling of ships is concentrated are first examined. This is followed by an analysis of the economic drivers of ship recycling, which have resulted in the industry being dominated by five countries and also analyzes steelmaking as the main driving force for ship recycling. We then discuss the sale and purchase market for end-of-life ships, explain the roles of brokers and cash buyers, and provide a simplified inventory of the components that are recycled out of a ship. We outline the efforts to implement existing international legislation to ship recycling, and the development of the Hong Kong Convention, and provide a critical analysis of the development of regional legislation by the European Union. We finally discuss the combination of voluntary and legislative mechanisms that will secure the global implementation of minimum standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.