The necessity for a “green” shipbreaking yard in Greece

Under certain conditions, the revival of the shipbuilding industry in Greece can open up new perspectives for the creation of “green” scrapping ships in Greece, creating income and new jobs.

The Managing Director of the Elefsina Port Authortity SA, Apostolos Kamarinakis, speaking to state news agency AMNA on the matter, states that the cost of raising the wrecks and transporting the dangerous ships for dismantling to nearby Turkey is considered unprofitable, while at the same time he emphasizes that Greece is losing valuable resources and income from scrap metal.

Mr. Kamarinakis pointed out the need to investigate the provision for the creation of a ship dismantling unit in the existing Shipyards that will operate in accordance with EU requirements, so that “as we “build” ships, we can also dismantle them in the same shipyard”.

Circular Economy

According to the CEO the issue can be addressed within the framework of the legislation being promoted for the Circular Economy including provisions for the recycling of ships and at the same time caring for the environment. He also added it is a big disadvantage Greece not to have a modern, European-standard, “green scrapyard” within the framework of the Circular Economy.

Wreck salvage

Mr. Kamarinakis stated the importance of the issue of salvaging shipwrecks both for Greek ports and for shipowners.

It should be noted that from January 2020 until today, a total of 13 shipwrecks and dangerous ships were removed from the port of Elefsina following relevant actions of the Port Authority with the aim of ensuring safe navigation and the protection of the marine environment.

The process of holding tenders for the sale, towing and final removal of dangerous ships and wrecks continues.

Increase in vessel scrapping in the coming years

Shipping industry executives point out that globally in the next five years in view of the new regulations of the International Maritime Organization IMO, the number of ship recycled will double , while the volumes will almost quadruple in the next decade.

They also point out that steel produced from scrap emits about five times less carbon than that produced from iron ore.

It is noted that Leviathan GmbH recently announced a collaboration with the German Naval Yards, a German group of shipyards to facilitate the green and sustainable recycling of ships.

The companies have signed a Letter of Intent to join forces to be the driving force behind European green ship recycling.

This collaboration will enable the world’s first sustainable and near-emission-free ship recycling using cold water cutting technology.

The cutting process is carbon-free, and there is also no risk to workers as most systems are remote-controlled.

Also during the cutting process there is no dust and the water used is filtered. The first ships are expected to be accepted for green recycling in Kiel soon.

Leviathan’s robot-assisted cold water cutting technology is under constant development and improvement.

According to the new environmental regulations to be implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) from 2023, ships with low CII scores will require large investments to optimize fuel consumption and emissions, and many shipowners may avoid them, opting for new and efficient ships.

The Piraeus Chamber supports the liquidation operation

The president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce, Vassilis Korkidis, in a recent article, has argued that the non-existence of a shipbreaking yard in Greece with operational specifications in line with the standards and relevant EU legislation. constitutes a serious deficiency both for our shipping infrastructure and for the economy in general. Mr. Korkidis staed the chamber’s support for any attempt to develop a shipbreaking facility under the condition of operating under Community regulations, pointing out that Turkey’s economy has benefited from the “implementation” of the circular economy since, in addition to the quantities of resulting steel, many of the removable mechanical and electronic components can be used on other ships either under repair or under construction.

It is worth noting that the Turkish scrapyards opened a new secondhand market with cruise ship scrap related to the utilization of the materials from the living spaces and from the hotel part of the ships.

This particular market according to the data has created a new trend as in general catering, the decoration sector as well as hotels, are looking for “opportunities” for equipment that is in good condition but is cheaper. It is also worth noting that the acquisition of shipbuilding steel in the form of scrap, some of which were Greek-owned, from the Turkish scrap yards also contributes to Turkey’s defense industry for the construction of its warships.

According to research firm VesselsValue, by October 2022, 29 bulkers for $289 million, 137 tankers for $779 million, one container ship for $3 million and 11 gas carriers for $54 million had been sold for scrapping in the entire world fleet by October 2022.

There were no vehicle transport ships given for scrapping in 2022. At the same time, in the eight months of 2022, seven Ro-Ro ships were given for dismantling for 29 million dollars. As concerns Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs), 29 were sold for scrap for $28 million.