Damen Launches ‘Green’ Ship Dismantling Pilot

Damen Shipyards Group has launched a pilot project in which a small tug will be dismantled in a circular way and fully in line with the EU regulations.

The project will serve as a trial, after which this approach of ‘green’ ship dismantling and recycling will be made available commercially, and also for larger vessels, according to Damen.

The 15.4-meter-long tug named Jan, which was built in 1927, will be dismantled at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam’s Botlek site in line with the regulations set out in the Ship Recycling Facility Plan.The site is one of the few in the Netherlands on the EU list of certified Ship Recycling Facilities.

“This pilot project fits in perfectly with our ambitions to become the most sustainable shipbuilder in the world. The question is not just how we design, build, maintain and refit our ships, but also, and precisely, how we dismantle them at the end of their lifespan and, most importantly: recycling,” saiid Arnout Damen, the CEO of Damen Shipyards Group.

“We identify all the materials from the Jan and assess their potential for reuse. In that way, the maximum environmental and economic return can be generated from the materials in their residual life,” added Nick van Egten, commercial director and co-owner of the Bottelier Group.

After the completion of the pilot project, there will be complete transparency about the amounts of dismantled materials and how they have been reused, recycled, or disposed of, with an approach already drafted with respect to the commercialization and financing of circular ship dismantling projects in the future.