Technical digest Ex-Maersk team sets up Sea2Cradle
new ship recycling company, Sea2Cradle, has recently been established by ex-Maersk personnel who have successfully recycled more than 60 ships for blue-chip names including P&O Nedlloyd and Maersk over the last ten years. The move by Tom Peter Blankenstijn and Wouter Rosenfeld, supported by management consultancy group Oxalis, follows Maersk’s decision to withdraw from third party ship recycling earlier this year. The new company, however, has agreed forward deals with Maersk and will continue to undertake ship recycling for the Danish major in the future. Established only in June, Sea2Cradle has already processed two container ships for Maersk, and two car carriers, two LNG tankers and one marine survey vessel for other owners.
A
Responsible recycling by ex-Maersk team
Blankenstijn is on the look-out for more facilities, each of which must undergo careful auditing, and he notes that there are various good facilities in Turkey. What about the demolition
Tom Peter Blankenstijn
Agreements have been signed with three recycling facilities in China – Changjiang Ship-breaking Company of Jiangyin on the Yangtze River; Jiangment Yinhu Ship-breaking Company of Jiangmen in the south of the country; and Tianma in the north – as well as Van Heyghen Recycling in Ghent, Belgium.
Green piping P
ennsylvania-based Victaulic, a mechanical pipe-joining system designer and manufacturer, has developed a new grooved coupling system for the mechanical jointing and coupling of pipes which, the company claims, is energy-efficient and flame- free. The design features a gasket/groove seal and a ductile-iron housing with bolts which can be fastened using a hand-ratchet,
50
eliminating the need for energy- inefficient and risky welding and the resulting fumes. Once in place, the coupling housings encase the gasket and engage the groove around the circumference of the pipe to create a triple seal unified joint that is enhanced when the system is pressurised. Victaulic says the system will save weight by 58% compared with traditional flange couplings, whilst
absorbing and reducing vibration. Since the component has a smaller profile, there are space savings too, making for easier handling in yards and on board ship. The jointing system is well suited for retrofits. ‘More and more vessel owners, naval architects, shipbuilders and repairers are turning to grooved-end mechanical pipe-joining,’ says Victaulic. ‘It is good for the planet and good for business.’
industry’s traditional centre – the Indian subcontinent? ‘We’re not excluding the Indian subcontinent’, explains Blankenstijn, ‘but we have to look carefully at the standard of facilities and HSE issues.’ Furthermore, he says, tidal range is a very important issue from the point of view of safe crane operation, potential pollution risk from spaces such as double-bottom tanks when ships are cut apart, and the need for safe access for emergency vehicles to all areas at all times.
Blankenstijn and his team – ten people in total – offer a full range of services as a ‘one-stop shop’. Sea2Cradle provides green passports for vessels, detailing all hazardous and
potentially hazardous materials prior to recycling and can also act as an intermediary between owner and recycling facility. Once a yard is chosen, a ship-specific Ship Recycling Plan is drawn up. The company offers assistance in preparing ships for final voyages. Experts on the team oversee the entire dismantling process and subsequently provide documentary proof of recycling activity and the safe disposal of hazardous waste. What about relative costs? Well, says Blankenstijn, you can’t easily compare apples and pears. Recycling is the environmentally responsible way of disposing of ships. How do you price safety? What cost pollution? Or a fatality in a badly run scrap yard? Sea2Cradle is looking for at least 20-30 vessels for recycling in 2012 and, if the company’s promising start is anything to go by, Blankenstijn and the team ship get them.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56