US-based International Shipbreaking Ltd (ISL) has completed its first demolition of a vessel from the European Union.
The Norwegian-flagged 16,000-dwt chemical tanker Wolverine was scrapped at ISL’s facility in Brownsville, Texas.
ISL, which is part of UK recycler EMR Group, said it has spent $30m on investments to meet the requirements of the rigorous EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SSR).
The Wolverine was accepted for scrapping in January 2022 and is one of 28 projects undertaken by the company during the past year.
The vessel is believed to be the 16,000-dwt Nordic Wolverine (built 2006) — which ran aground close to the port of Barranquilla in Colombia in 2020.
The ship’s owner completed an inventory of hazardous materials (IHM), which ISL said it reviewed before developing the Wolverine ship recycling plan.
ISL said that it has been able to recycle 97% of the materials removed from the Wolverine which was built in 2006 at Aker Tulcea, Romania.
“The project is fully compliant with the EU SRR with all waste materials removed from the Wolverine disposed of in accordance with the EU SRR requirements,” ISL said.
“The EU SRR helps responsible ship owners make the shipbreaking industry greener and safer. “Increasingly, banks and investors are unwilling to fund shipping companies who cannot prove that their ships are recycled responsibly,” it added.
Chris Green, senior manager at ISL said the recycling of the Wolverine at ISL’s Brownville site represented a new era for the company.
“By investing $30m in the latest technology, equipment and infrastructure, our business has become the first in the US to be able to recycle ships to a level compliant with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SSR),” he said.
“Around the world there are still too many ships that end their days being recycled in dangerous and environmentally harmful yards on the other side of the world.
“By continuing to raise our standards, ISL is showing responsible ship owners there is better way to do business.”
ISL, which has the capacity to scrap ships over 366 metres in length and a beam of 48 metres, said the Wolverine project was completed without any “recordable injuries to our employees, hazardous or regulated material spills, or regulatory violations of any kind”.
