Ship breaking operations
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This article is written by Gitika Jain, from Amity University, Kolkata. This is an exhaustive article which deals with ship-breaking operations.

Introduction

Ship scrapping, decommissioning of ships, Ship-breaking, ship dismantling and abandonment of ships are the various terminologies used to represent the process of disassembling the ships depending on what technology was used in different situations. However, the technology currently used when combined with the issues in sustainable development globally has again changed the terminology used to represent the dismantling of ships as ship recycling. The best option for vessels that have expired with time has been defined as ship recycling by the International Maritime Organisation(IMO). Shooting the current use of technology a comprehensive definition of ship recycling can be a systematic engineering process that involves disassembling, dismantling, and reusing all the parts of obsolete vessels keeping in mind the issue of sustainable development and energy conservation. The vessel which at the end of its operational life or at the time as decided by its owners when disposed of in a proper manner is known as ship recycling and is considered to be the best process to get rid of the expired vessels.  Ship recycling should be carried on carefully and the process of safer dismantling of the ships should include logical supply change management, handling carefully the harmful materials, and systems and direct and indirect energy-saving activities. 

Historical background

In countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, during the time of the second world war, a different kind of fleet was produced called an obsolete fleet. As technology advanced with a change in socio-economic demand and engineering process, the industry also changed its status. The industry migrated around different areas of the globe but during the second half of the twentieth century, the industry had their respective home-ports. Slowly but gradually the industry moved towards eastern Europe because of the strict rules and regulations related to the safety and environmental impacts that were imposed by Europe and US administration. The less strict rules and regulations and cost advantage in those countries attracted the vessel owners to move to countries such as India, Pakistan, and China. The industry even saw the movement to Bangladesh which was considered to be the most economically underdeveloped country. 

The ship recycling destination in South Asian countries where the recycling activity was carried on was done in a haphazard way with lesser modes of safety and environmental aspects. Practices such as minimal application of the standards of ship recycling, lesser use of recommended practices like handling, storing, transport, dismantling and disposal activities, no use of effective knowledge and illiterate labour added fuel to the backwardness of this industry. The technology prevailing in these industries need to emerge and uplift the standards of the recycling industry from nearly scraping down the ships to truly recycling them. Additionally, to give a facelift to this industry it is important to move from an era of hazardous business to modern industry. 

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A very big hand of help from the green NGOs and international engineering community started flowing in the Ship-breaking industries when they were rigorously adding to the tragedies of human life loss and a threat to the environment through their activities. So high was the gravity of the problem in the Ship-breaking activities that it needed immediate attention and research to be conducted on various topics related to safety and environment pollution otherwise it could have affected international shipping. The process of ship recycling needed to be conducted on a more serious, comprehensive, and exhaustive level with a better scientific approach and aimed at various activities of the problem such as engineering efficiency, eco-friendliness, and energy conservation. 

Operations in the ship recycling process

The three essential phases in which the activities of ship recycling are carried out in their entire life span are:

  • The initial phase called creation;
  • The intermediate phase called sustenance; and
  • The final phase is called decay.

After the activity has been carried out the various components of the system are converted to some other form and need to enter another system and this cycle continues endlessly. All the physical parts are made to follow this life cycle where the span of some is very trivial whereas others take millions of years. This cycle continues and everything vanishes and reappears in another form following a natural recycling process but it does not happen for man-made systems because it feels to complete the natural life cycle. Because of this all the environmental preservation and safety of life on earth have been a factor to a greater extent and or certain actions have been implemented all over the world in areas of science, technology, and engineering. the three natural phases of the life cycle of a ship are:

  • Creation – design and construction
  • Sustenance – ship operations
  • Dismantling – decay

It is important for not only the shipping industry but all industries to undertake the best practices to improve the productivity and quality of their work. However, the urgent need for applying best practices in the ship recycling industry has arisen to a great extent. The activities of best practices include stricter rules and regulations and a set of voluntary measures. Adopting the best practices would result in improving the quality standard of this industry. 

Background operations in ship recycling

The last activity in the life cycle of a vessel is the ship recycling process and it is important to carry it out well in advance to achieve the objective of dismantling. It is important to be thorough with the practical background activities for understanding the recycling process in-depth and carry it out for further verifications. 

  • Decommissioning of ships

Currently, there exists no international regulation that seeks the retirement of ships from service. The lead role in taking decisions for carrying out the activities are undertaken by ship classification societies. There are no rules made by the ship classification societies that specify the activities during decommissioning of ships. But this does not mean that society totally scrapped the procedure of dismantling of ships. The owner as and when he feels to get his vessel registered under a society that is not affiliated to the International Association of Classification Societies, can do so. Doing this, the ship-owner can extend the life of their vessel and the decision of discontinuing the vessel from the service will be fully left upon to the owners of the vessel. This can be decided by the owner based on the scrap value of the ships. 

  • Activities of ship recycling brokers

There are various steps involved before the ship reaches its last owner. The owner’s ship which ceases to operate and becomes a scrap is not called the ship owners. Those are called ship recycling brokers. Whenever a particular shape is being decided to go through the process of this dismantling the information is made available to various platforms like internet websites and maritime publications. Through the advertisement made in those platforms, the interested brokers approach the owners and transfer the ownership by paying an advance amount. Various invites of the quotation are made from the potential buyers and based on the highest-paid the broker fixes the buyer and a memorandum of understanding is made to be signed between the owner and the buyer which clearly states the conditions related to the transfer of ship for dismantling. The buyer’s representative who is a ship surveyor thoroughly inspects the vessel and gives his decision whether the buy is good or not. This is where the buyer’s responsibility comes into play where he needs to arrange the relevant certificate for transfer of vessel. 

  • The obsolete vessel positioning method

There are basically three methods in the ship recycling process. 

  1. Beach method – This method is adopted and applied at the shallow basins with long shelf beds where high tidal variations are available. During successive high tides, the biggest vessel progressively slides up. The entire process of dismantling is done in a beach area on the waterfront of the recycling yard. Alang recycling yard adopted this method in Gujarat, Chittagong in Bangladesh, Darukhana in Mumbai, and Gadani in Karachi. 
  2. Dry dock method or berth method – In this method, the retired shape is taken to the dry dock facility in the yard. This method is also called the disassembly method of ships in the yard. The main difference between Beats method and Dry Dock method is that there is a presence of a concrete barrier between seawater and dismantled ship. The absence of a beach method of progress is sliding for transporting the vessel within the yard premises. The countries practicing this method are Western European countries and the United States. 
  3. Buoy method – This method was named after the dismantling process was carried out in floating conditions. In this method, the scrapping of shape is done by cutting or removing the parts in a vertical direction which starts from the top of the navigation deck and then gradually reaches the double bottom. The cutting boundaries do not come in contact with the seawater and most of the yards adopt this practice in China which makes use of this method. 
  • Dismantling operations

The main steps that are involved in this process in crude engineering activities like buffering, lifting, transporting, and disposal that are performed prior to disassembling. The workers use cutting torches and saws on the beach to break the ship from the end that faces the beach to the end that faces the sea. Additionally, removing from flat-lying blocks using a gas cutting is done. until the vessel has disassembled completely the cutting process continues and the parts are handled by manual labourers or small cranes to the nearby stack location. The procedure of carrying out the disassembled parts is done both manually and through mechanical lifting procedures. There is no process of weight lifting calculation that is done prior to lifting. Hull steels and other items are removed by teams of men using winches simultaneously. The Alang yard which carries out the dismantling ship process states the features of it. The metals used for disassembling are steel, aluminium, copper, etc. The machinery used during the activity of disassembling of vessels is kept in a covered region. 

Ship recycling operations guidelines

There are certain rules and recommendations from the United Nation convention that are framed by various agencies to govern the process of ship recycling activities. All these rules, regulations, recommendations, suggestions, when combined together are called guidelines in the ship recycling process. The important agencies or bodies that make such rules and regulations are:

These guidelines include aspects like land air and sea pollution safety in operational and occupational sectors hazardous and non-hazardous waste working practices and seaworthiness. The Gujarat Maritime board covers all the factors except the seaworthiness of vessels and various modifications are required to be made in the guidelines covering the entire recycling process. 

Various global locations where the ship recycling process are conducted

The major ship recycling centres of the world are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. 

Bangladesh

A very steady growth in the ship recycling yards of Bangladesh have been witnessed during the last five years. The major ship recycling location in Bangladesh is Chittagong. Faujdarhat, city 16 km Southwest from Chittagong has 16-kilometre stretch available and 8 square kilometre area available for recycling activities. Due to the difference in high tides available in these yards, disassembling bulk carriers and big tankers are easier. Without even a proper routine check breaching and pre breaching activities are carried out. 

China

Places like Jiangmen and Jiangsu provinces situated in Pearl and Yangtze river deltas are the areas where recycling activities are carried out in China. There are more than 50 yards located in these provinces. For operating inland vessels there are inland recycling yards. These yards use the Buoy method. The process of disassembling is done using a vertical lift-off method with the support base. Chinese authorities claim that the beaching method is forbidden in China and these yards are required to disassemble using the Buoy method. The facility of rough paint treatment is used to remove hull paint. The ship recycling industry has been included in the environmental industry category by the Chinese government to safeguard the environment against the destruction caused in the process of activities of ship recycling. 

India 

The major ship recycling centres in India are Andhra Pradesh Gujarat Karnataka Kerala Maharashtra Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The mode of operation in these countries are the same as that of the neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. 

Pakistan

The major centre for Ship recycling in Pakistan is located near Karachi which is the largest port entry of Pakistan. The yards near Karachi are under the control of an authority situated in Gadani called Balochistan development authority. Pakistan usually uses beaching methods to recycle ships. The yards have the capacity to dismantle more than 50 large ships at a time. 

Turkey 

Aliaga and Itmir regions of Turkey are used to carry out the recycling process of the shipping industry. Turkey also uses beach-based methods for ship recycling. 

The main recycling destinations in the world-  India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, and Turkey have shown tremendous growth, China being the shipbuilding boom in the year 2005 and onwards with less focus on the ship recycling industry and more on the activities that affect the environment. 

Ship recycling as an engineering industry

Ship recycling may be put into the category of an engineering industry due to its following features:

  • Trends in global ship recycling 

The major ship recycling industries in the world are located in India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey. The ship recycling industry is facing a downfall due to government regulations in certain countries like India. China had a deviation from ship recycling to shipbuilding from the year 2005 onwards. Bangladesh is flourishing in this sector as the government intervention is minimal. Turkey is likely to be benefited from this industry due to the initiatives taken by the European Union to develop the area of ship recycling.

  • Benefits of ship recycling

Following the second world war, the number of obsolete vessels in the global shipping sector has introduced manifolds. Proper dismantling and decommissioning of obsolete vessels are needed to maintain the health of the international marine industry. This is where the role of the ship recycling industry is seen as important. Ship recycling methodology is also the demand of the time to address the burning ecological issues of air and water pollution as well as global warming. This industry provides great potential for the direct employment of blue and white-collar workers.

  • Lack of rules and regulations

There is no dearth in the number of agencies concerned with the framing of rules and regulations, for example, IMO, ship classification societies, local government bodies, and inland authorities, to name a few. The individual as well as the collective effort of these agencies is required to successfully implement these rules. IMO plays a lead role in this area but this collective action is still lacking its effectiveness. So far, only DNV has come up with well-formulated and documented plans. Other ship classification societies are joining in but the implementation of rules is yet to take place at a combined level.

  • Limited global recycling capacity

The countries of Middle East Asia like India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have the major ship recycling industries and are the world’s capital of ship repair and conversion. For others, this is treated as a dirty industry, especially by the countries of the West. The reasons why this area is not getting a global recognition may be- pollution resulting from the dismantling of ships, unsafe dismantling operations, high labour, and transportation cost, and stringent rules and regulations imposed by the government.

Further, the other regions where this industry is not pulling off any thoughts are those where the industrial climate does not support recycling activities. Unavailability of pre-processing technology, lack of proper infrastructure and architecture, lack of involvement in maritime trade, and unsuitable demographic features.

  • Creation of recycling role model

Scrap is a by-product of almost every consumption process. Imagine a world full of waste. The 4 Rs to promote ecological balance are Reduce (the use of non-conventional sources of energy), Refuse (use of products that are made of non-biodegradable materials), Reuse (products), and Recycle (the old product and make a new product). The massive population produces wastage in unprecedented amounts. Without recycling and other measures to cut wastage, it would be impossible to achieve the aim of sustainable development. To find out an ultimate solution to these complex problems, a disciplined approach relating to engineering, infrastructure, environment, and energy management should be formulated. This would benefit the marine industrial sector in particular and the ecological health in general.

Scope of demand forecasting in ship recycling

Forecasting of demand means the application of mathematical and statistical tools to roughly predict the number of vessels that would be ready to be dismantled during a particular period of time. The variables or parameters that are required for this calculation are not fixed and vary from time to time as well as vary across different ship types. Some of these variables are the cost of scrap steel, the prevalent conditions in the freight market (in case of cargo ships), cost incurred in dismantling, price of fuel oil and shipbuilding, the rules and regulations imposed by the government and the option for conversion.

Forecasting methods and tools

The forecasting has to be done critically keeping in mind the fairness of the existing methods and tools.

  • Qualitative forecasting methods

This method is opinion based where it is difficult to assign a numeric value to the methods used. This includes market research by surveys and interviews to determine customer preferences. An example of such a method is the Delphi method where the forecast is the product of the consensus among a group of experts.

  • Quantitative forecasting methods

These methods involve assigning numbers to the parameters as a measure of their impact on the demand. It can be further broken down into two categories – time series models and causal models. Time series models use the data from past trends to predict the demand in the future. For example, given a historical data of say, past 20 years, we can analyse the patterns in these data to predict the future demand. These patterns could be seasonal (for example showing similar fluctuations in the months of January to March), or cyclical patterns (patterns observed over a long period of time like an increase in demand every 5 years) or patterns exhibiting upward or downward trends.

Casual methods use the values of the parameters determining the demand. They consider the relationships of the various environmental variables with the demand to predict the future demand for a given set of such variables and their values.

The basic difference between the two is that time series models use the values of the demand itself from the past to predict the demand in the future whereas casual methods use the values of other variables to predict the demand.

Reasons for ship-breaking

  1. The average lifespan of a ship is 25 to 30 years. After this, if the ships are left on shore, they would occupy hundreds of kilometres of space sea-shore or if they are left on the oceans, they would disturb and cause accidents with other sailing ships. In such a scenario, it becomes important to demolish the old ships.
  2. Ship-breaking is usually done with the purpose of ship recycling which is necessary to obtain the iron or steal from those ships to make new ships out of them. The amount of iron in the earth is limited and so recycling becomes a feasible option rather than running out of iron in no time.
  3. Steel can be obtained from its alloy that is raw ferrous with the help of a coal furnace. But this is costly and causes a lot of air pollution. A better option is of course recycling.
  4. The equipment used onboard like engines, electric motors, fans, tube lights, electric wires, etc. are durable and in usable condition even after the lifespan of a ship is over. These can be used for industries other than shipping or even for domestic purposes.
  5. Ship-breaking requires a large number of people to break the ships. Hence, a labour-intensive country like India and Bangladesh can earn a lot from such industries and this would provide a huge potential for employment as well. The employment opportunities are direct as well as indirect through ancillary and allied industries such as transportation, trading of re-consumable machinery, etc.
  6. Technologies become obsolete with time. New advancements keep on coming and shipping industries need to adopt these changes as soon as they can. Thus, it becomes necessary to bid the old ships a good-bye.
  7. Breaking of ships is necessary to avoid accidents. There are rules and regulations governing the plying of ships. Using a ship over and above its life span can invite accidents and put the lives of thousands of people in danger.

Recommendations

Usage of an approved cutting plan

At present nearly 5% of LDT (Light Displacement Tonnage) is lost due to the current dismantling methods. This 5% loss is considered a high amount of loss considering the price of steel. A proper cutting plan can be of help in this scenario. Just as in the case of an assembly plan a cutting plan has to be first developed and audited by the quality control personnel before dismantling is carried out.

  • Application of the safe cutting method

Flame cutting is easy and cost-effective but has many cons like free fall of dismantled units. This problem can be solved by using notch-discontinuity dismantling method.

  • Knowledgebase generation

A ship undergoes several modifications during her lifetime. The history of these changes and modifications can play an important role in the dismantling of the ship.

  • Implementation of design for ship recycling

It is recommended to build a ship considering the ease of its dismantling from the very designing phase of the ship itself. This is called design for ship recycling. It should help in sustainable development.

  • Implementation of the extended green passport

A ship may carry hazardous materials on board. An Extended Green Passport (previously Green Passport) carries the essential information regarding the hazardous materials on board and these are provided in a software called SRR.

  • Recycling information in equipment manuals

There are various equipment or materials on board like deck cover, insulation, paints, etc. 

The Extended Green Passport can be further enhanced by adding the information of all the equipment onboard along with the information relating to their life, recyclability, methods of recycling of these materials, or equipment.

Scope for future work

  1. A software encompassing the development of ship recycling and demand forecast for various ship types.
  2. Development of yards for ship recycling considering the disassembly and re-engineering of ship building activities.

Conclusion

The present-day methodologies and concepts in ship dismantling along the yards of Alang, Gujrat, India, and similar yards in Bangladesh clearly showcase the ineffectiveness of the Knowledgebase expertise. A software named Ship Recycler Recommender has been developed for giving recommendations for recycling ships and the equipment on board. Further, the nascent concept of Design for ship recycling is getting a push to be included as a part of the plan for shipbuilding and development.

References

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