Marcopolo Shipyard Starts First Green Ship Recycling in Indonesia
An Indonesia shipyard is planning to provide a green recycling operation to help shipowners meet the growing pressures to responsibly handle their end-of-life ships. While it will be smaller than the well-known operations in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, it represents the first regional expansion for the industry and an opportunity for shipowners to dispose of ships in compliance with the regulations.
Problems and poor working conditions at the Asian shipbreakers have been well documented. A series of NGOs have sought to highlight the high rate of workplace accidents and deaths, with NGO Shipbreaking Platform calling the third quarter of 2021 the deadliest ever quarter for the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh. In addition to the deaths and injuries, shipbreaking is a dirty business handling a broad range of difficult materials removed from the ships including insulation and wiring.
The maritime industry continues to be under mounting pressure from various stakeholders to ensure vessels are recycled safely and responsibly. A range of programs has been developed in recent years including the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI), which includes as members The China Navigation Company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Lloyd’s Register, and Standard Chartered Bank as well as and nonmembers that include GES International, Hapag-Lloyd, NORDEN, Nykredit, Stolt Tankers, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen. The new recycling operation in Indonesia will follow the standards established by these organizations.
“Given the growing interest in sustainability by the shipping industry, we are excited to expand our shipyard services to include green ship recycling,” said Sean Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Marco Polo Marine. “With the ISO certification by ABS QE, shipowners can be assured that their vessels are recycled in safe and environmentally sound facilities.”
The P.T. Marcopolo Shipyard, located in Batam, Indonesia, is expanding its operations to offer green ship recycling to help shipowners recycle their end-of-life ships in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The yard is operated by Singapore’s Marco Polo Marine group, a marine logistics company that also provides offshore supply vessels, tugs, and barges for charter to the mining, commodities, construction, infrastructure, and land reclamation industries.
The shipyard located south of Singapore encompasses approximately 80 acres with three dry docks and more than 2,000 feet of seafront. It builds ships as well as conducts repair, maintenance, and conversion services for small to mid-sized ships.
In addition to being awarded the permit by local authorities to conduct ship recycling activities, the group has also become the first shipyard in Indonesia to be certified and awarded the ISO 30000:2009 certificate. The ISO 30000 certification is recognized globally and often a prerequisite by shipowners as the shipping industry looks to comply with the new European Union (EU) Regulation on Ship Recycling and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Hong Kong Convention.
As the first shipyard to earn the ISO certificates, the Marcopolo shipyard offers a significant advantage to shipowners. Several similar niche recycling operations have been launched in Europe, such as Green Yard in Norway, and a recent announcement about plans to launch a recycling operation in Scotland for large vessels.