Grieg Star of Norway is believed to be getting a 76% lower price by scrapping an open-hatch bulker in Turkey instead of the Indian subcontinent.
Grieg said last month it was selling the 43,700-dwt Star Gran (built 1986) as the first vessel to be demolished in Europe under the European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR).
The ship, which had been due for special survey in July, is being broken up at Leyal Ship Recycling Group.
Several demolition brokers claim that Turkish recycling prices are around $250 per ldt, as opposed to $425 per ldt on the subcontinent.
This would imply that Grieg could have fetched $1.6m more if it had chosen a traditional beaching facility for the Star Gran.
Grieg last sold a ship for demolition in 2016 and has historically opted for Chinese demolition yards.
Its shiprecycling subsidiary, Grieg Green, is overseeing the Star Gran’s demolition sale and will ensure that work is compliant with SRR requirements, the company said.
Potentially kept trading
The shipowner has in its fleet two more open-hatch bulkers built before 1990. The 40,800-dwt Star Fuji (built 1985) is due for special survey in December and is likely to be scrapped before that, director Sveinung Tvedt said. The 43,700-dwt Star Grip (built 1986) is not due for special survey until March 2021 and could potentially be kept trading until then, he added.
Both ships will then be sold for green recycling.
