Maersk charts new course for recycling decommissioned ships

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, has unveiled plans to send more decommissioned vessels to shipping yards in Alang for recycling at competitive prices and without harming the environment.

Head of Sustainability,Maersk Group, Annette Stube, was quoted as saying: “Our objective is to recycle our vessels in the responsible way and at the same time at a competitive price.

“This shows why we came from China and Turkey and why we are not going to Bangladesh and Pakistan (where standards are very poor). We have seen development in India where four yards have started operating at far superior levels,” she said.

“We are coming to India as it gives us an opportunity to push development in the local ship recycling industry,” she added.

The company is working with ship breakers as well as Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to improve the standards and working environment at Asia’s biggest ship breaking yard.

Maersk Lines is expected to retire about 30 vessels in a few years with most of them headed here.

The company, which operates a fleet of over 600 large container vessels, has been recycling its vessels in China and Turkey. But now it has decided to look at India as an alternate destination as well as for financial reasons.

The company has already sent two vessels — Maersk Wyoming and Maersk Georgia — to Shree Ram Vessel Scrap Pvt. Ltd. for dismantling after extensive audit of its facilities.

Stube said: “We foresee that many more vessels will come to Alang in the next five years as will need to recycle more vessels than before.”