UK NAVAL PROGRAMMES
sent south to re-capture the Falkland Islands, the assault ship HMS Intrepid is set to begin her final voyage, following the selection of specialist disposals group Leavesley International as preferred bidder for the task of recycling the 12,000-tonne vessel. Leavesley, which was awarded preferred
Disposal plan announced for Intrepid T
WENTY-FIVE years after playing a central role as part of the UK task force
bidder status by the Ministry of Defence’s Disposal Services Agency (DSA) in February, following open competition, is currently applying for the necessary licences and approvals. Once the company has secured these permissions, the Ministry of Defence expects to be in a position to place a contract for the disposal of the ship. Commenting on its selection as preferred
bidder, Leavesley International said that there was ‘a demand for the establishment of a high quality dismantling facility in the UK,’ pointing out that the ‘practices of the South Asian yards in particular have attracted universal condemnation’. It adds that the company is proposing ‘to recycle the ship in a strictly controlled and managed environment maintaining the highest health and safety and environmental standards. ‘The recycling of ships is an inherently
sustainable activity where over 95% of the ship’s material can be recycled. HMS Intrepid is a typical example and Leavesley International will ensure that every effort will be made to recycle or reuse everything that is not genuine waste’. HMS Intrepid was commissioned in 1967
and enjoyed a 24-year career with the Royal Navy before being placed in reserve in 1991. Formally decommissioned in 1999, the ship has been laid up in Portsmouth harbour for several years alongside sister ship ex-HMS Fearless. DSA, working with the Department for
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has developed a strategy for the responsible disposal of UK flagged end- of-life ships, following a lengthy public consultation. Ex-Intrepid will in fact be the first former Royal Navy ship to be disposed of in accordance with the recently published DEFRA Guidance Notes on Ship Recycling. Previous efforts to dispose of Intrepid
have exposed the current shortfall in appropriate facilities; a recycling contract was originally tendered in 2005 and responses were received from facilities in the UK, Belgium, Lithuania, and Turkey. The Environment Agency, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence’s Disposal Services Agency, audited a selected number of these sites in April 2005 and found that none were fully compliant with environmental, health, and safety standards for trans-frontier shipments of waste. As a result, no tender was accepted. Reflecting DEFRA’s guidance, the latest
disposal competition called for ex-Intrepid to be recycled within a nation from the
WARSHIP TECHNOLOGY MAY 2007
HMS Intrepid is set to begin her final voyage following the selection of specialist disposals group Leavesley International as preferred bidder for the task of recycling the 12,000-tonne vessel.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, requiring a detailed ship recycling plan and a substantial financial bond to be held by the Ministry of Defence until the ship has been recycled. The ship will in fact be the first to be
disposed of under the Green Passport scheme as adopted by the International Maritime Organization. This requires all potentially hazardous waste to be permanently removed before dismantling, or if integral to the ship, independently catalogued in detail so its proper removal can be monitored during the process. Intrepid will be dismantled in the UK
in accordance with the Basel Convention on the cross border shipment of waste. Leavesley has yet to identify its preferred ship recycling facility on commercial grounds, noting that there are ‘four or five potential sites in the UK’. It adds: ‘One important feature yet to
be finalised is the project timing; the date that we take possession may very well determine what facilities are available to us. Additionally, the final location will not be announced until we have engaged the appropriate national and regional authorities, and secured the necessary permissions and licensing requirements.’ All liquid waste including oils, chemicals,
and polychlorinated biphenyls, has already been removed from the vessel. An independent asbestos survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, has determined the presence of quantities of asbestos onboard, contained chiefly in the funnels and as insulation round pipe work. As part
Intrepid and sister vessel Fearless have both been laid up for some time awaiting a decision on a disposal strategy.
of its recycling plan, Leavesley will engage a specialist company very experienced in removing asbestos from sites throughout the UK. The entire dismantling process will take
place whilst the ship is in dry dock. The recycling plan includes the salvage and re-use of engineered components, (such as anchor chain, winches, generators, lifting gear, and machine shop equipment) re-use of materials, (predominantly steel) and a limited sale of 'souvenir' artifacts. A number of other decommissioned Royal
Navy warships are laid up in Portsmouth awaiting final disposal. These include Intrepid’s sister ship Fearless, and the Type 42 Batch 1 destroyers Newcastle, Glasgow, and Cardiff.
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