Altera Infrastructure, which was acquired by Brookfield Business Partners from the Teekay Group in January, has signed up to the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI).
The company, formerly known as Teekay Offshore before a rebrand this week, joins a group of 10 shipowners committed to offering full disclosure on recycling.
The STRI said Altera will continue to work in its steering group, in which it had earlier participated through the Teekay Group.
Altera president and chief executive Ingvild Saether said: “Continuing the SRTI membership under our new brand name was a matter of course. We want to take a leading position in the change we all need to be a part of, and we believe openness and transparency are key in achieving this.”
Altera’s decision comes after it was challenged over its shipbreaking practices while part of the Teekay Group.
In late January, Norwegian authorities raided a Teekay Offshore Partners’ subsidiary after a suspected violation of environmental regulations over the scrapping of the 124,200-dwt shuttle tanker Navion Britannia (built 1998) at RL Kalthia Ship Breaking in India.
The raid was carried out by the Norway’s National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, which conducted searches and interrogated witnesses at Teekay Shipping Norway's office in Stavanger.
RL Kalthia is regarded as one of India’s better recycling yards and has a statement of compliance with the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
However, by sending the ship for recycling outside the OECD, Teekay is allegedly in breach of international hazardous waste export laws.
Andrew Stephens, executive director of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, which hosts the SRTI, said: “By publicly disclosing its approach, Altera is not only making clear its commitment to responsible shiprecycling; it’s also raising the bar and contributing to a more transparent and accountable maritime industry."
