Overview of Recent Developments in Ship Breaking Industry

 

One of the largest industries employing huge manpower in India is that of ship recycling. Most of the companies dealing in recycling strictly follow the guidelines of HKC and have the necessary knowledge and expertise related to dismantling of the ship’s parts and segregation according to the product categories. 

The yards consist of sufficient space for the ancillary industries or quarters for laborers working for them. They take additional measures to reduce carbon footprint and make it compulsory for the workers to wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as safety measures. The workers are given training in updated technologies.

Some companies have floating crane barges that can lift thousand of tons of material at one go from the ship and place them on the yard. 

About the Hong Kong Convention (HKC):

In 2009, there was an international convention in which there were recommendations and suggestions related to safe ways of recycling and disposal of a ship. The decisions were taken as the recycling process may be life-threatening for both the workers and harmful for the environment specifically in Asian countries. 

Since most of the workers associated with ship recycling in India are unskilled, training is usually provided to the people in the following areas:

• Safety features

• Prevention against fire

• Training in first aid

• Mock drill

• Gas cutting process

• Working at a height 

• Working in a confined space

• Oil spillage in the sea and on land

• Identification of hazardous substances

• Handling battery, lead, zinc

• Operating cranes and trucks

When ship recycling takes place, almost the entire materials and parts are reused for different purposes:

• The steel is used in construction industries or for manufacturing containers.

• The generators and ship lights are used for onshore activities.

• Hydrocarbon remnants are used as fuel in other industries.

• New steel is further produced by recycling steel which is a much cheaper and efficient method.

There are approximately 150 yards along the coastlines associated with the process of ship breaking in India. The industry is highly competitive, requires a significant amount of capital, and collaborates with partners all over the world. 

Around 6.2 million gross tonnes (GT) of scrap is produced annually in India. The industrial sector related to ship breaking in India is considered one of the largest among the global ship recycling industries.

Mandates of the European Regulation on Ship Recycling (EU SRR)

According to the updates provided by EU SRR in 2019, the ships flagged by Europe should be recycled in the yards approved by them. EU is considered the world’s largest exporter of steel scrap. The majority of its exports take place in Turkey, India, China, and Pakistan. 

There were discussions about the probability of Indian yards to be included in the approved list by 2020. Also, there were talks that all ships weighing over 500 GT would be allowed to carry Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHMs) by the end of 2020. 

IMO guidelines and Green Passport

The process of ship recycling in India has to follow certain international policies and standards like IMO (International Maritime Organizations) related to minimum wastage and environmental hazards. For this reason, the ship recycling industry is known as a green industry.

A document called Green Passport was introduced and was stated to be compulsory for any ship that wanted to be part of the green ship recycling process. The document is supposed to contain a list of all the hazardous materials used in the construction of any particular ship. The document would be prepared at the same time when a ship would be constructed and would be on board the ship throughout the period during which it would be in working condition. 

Moreover, the document would have such a format that any change in the material or equipment would be updated. These changes would be informed to all the individuals who may own the ship during different periods of the ship’s lifetime. 

The final owner is supposed to hand over the document along with the ship to the recycling yard.

There have been some exceptions where the standard rules as per IMO were not followed in terms of issues related to the environment. These incidents were identified through audits performed during different times in certain yards. The countries where these yards are located should take up the responsibility of following the rules to avoid risks.