Norway and Höegh Autoliners Launch Plan to “Upcycle” End-of-Life Ships

One of the biggest challenges facing European shipowners is the end-of-life resolution for ships. EU regulations limit how and where they can dispose of ships while environmentalists highlight the energy and lack of sustainability in the dismantling of old ships.

Norway has come together with an innovative solution that they believe establishes a circular value chain in which decommissioned ships are repurposed or “upcycled” into new build materials. Explaining the approach, they highlighted that steel should not be exported and melted down, but instead, it can be reused in Norway and Europe as new building material.

A partnership of Norwegian industry looks to create an alternative to the export of ships to Turkey, which currently holds the EU’s only large-scale ship recycling capacity. They highlight that seven Norwegian shipyards have developed EU-approved capabilities for decommissioning end-of-life ships and the upcycling of the material.

Höegh Autoliners is working with Nordic Circles for the national project which they report will “revolutionize the handling of decommissioned ships.” Applying the process without melting and exporting the material, they report will lower emissions by up to 97 percent.

As part of the agreement, Höegh Autoliners will send up to eight ships for recycling in Norway. They report the value of the agreement at NOK 1.3 billion ($128 million) with the first upcycling in 2026 to be conducted by AF Offshore Decom in Vats, Norway.

“With this agreement, we ensure sustainability from cradle to grave and lay the foundation for a new green industrial adventure in Norway,” said Sebjørn Dahl, COO of Höegh Autoliners. “We are extremely proud of that.”

The group highlights a strong and emerging opportunity for ship upcycling citing reports that a doubling of decommissioning assignments is expected driven by new climate regulations and an aging fleet. Norway, they note, has the fifth largest merchant fleet by value and when including the EU’s share, they foresee the potential to address 45 percent of the world’s merchant fleet.