NYK Seeks to Commercialize Green Ship Recycling in Japan
Japan’s ship-owning giant NYK (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) is partnering to explore the opportunities for green ship recycling in Japan. Working with Oono Development Company, a Japanese demolition and waste disposal company, they had agreed to jointly study the commercialization of ship recycling.
The companies point to the need for more eco-friendly ship recycling and the growing interest in recycling materials to promote a circular economy. Ships they note are made of large amounts of high-quality steel, and more than 90 percent of medium and large vessels are recycled as construction materials, recycled materials, or used equipment. Operations at Alang, India, for example, became well-known for their repurposing of materials from ships while the metals feed India and other countries' steel and construction industries.
Analysts have projected despite the current drought in ship recycling that a wave is coming as companies move to meet new environmental regulations. NYK notes however that there are currently a limited number of yards worldwide that meet the required standards for ship recycling.
They anticipate further pressure creating new opportunities as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in June 2025 puts in force the Ship Recycling Convention. First proposed 15 years ago, the Hong Kong Convention sets new standards for safety and environmental protection. Liberia and Bangladesh were the last signatories for the Hong Kong Convention in June 2023 clearing the way for it to go into effect next year.
Promoting the circular economy and meeting trends toward decarbonization, the steel industry is shifting toward electric furnaces. Ships and other scrap steel have low impurity content which is harder to remove from molten steel making it desired and lower cost for the electric furnaces. Scrap has become increasingly attractive for the process of rerolling.
Concept for the recycling operation using Oono Development's dry dock in central Japan (NYK)
Oono Development owns Japan’s only large dry dock which can be used to handle large ocean-going vessels and offshore platforms. It is located on the eastern coast in central Japan near Nagoya and will become the center of the recycling operation. The companies highlight the site is almost a hundred acres and has mooring and a coastal quay to support the operation. The dry dock, which is over 2,600 feet (810 meters) in length can handle two large ocean-going vessels at one time.
The dry dock method for dismantling a vessel will be a key component of meeting the new environmental regulations. In addition, they will explore building a high-efficiency incineration power generation facility to complete the treatment of industrial waste.
They anticipate business opportunities in the sale of the valuable resources from the ships, including steel and used equipment.