News bulletin, concerning the demolition of ships. Unlike the Clémenceau none of the following ships underwent asbestos removal. Some of these boats are of European origine.

In England, the demolition shipyard Able, Teeside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Center is waiting for the authorisation from the Hartlepool Community and the British Environmental Agency. More than 2 years ago, 4 former U.S. Navy ships were towed to Europe. Environmental groups have asked for the return to the U.S. of 4 American "ghost-ships", thus the recycling work has been halted. The boats are docked and still waiting in Hartlepool.

In Asia : Bahagia. Tanker, 3,872 t of metal's. Singapore Flag. Built in Japan in 1977. Detained in October 2005 under the Tokyo memorandum. Classification certificate valid until 2008 held by the Japanese Co. NKK. Sold for demolition to Bangladesh for 375 $ per t.

Herakles. General Cargo Liner, 159 m long, 5,212 t of metal's. Thailand Flag. Built in Spain in 1976. Greek management. Sold for demolition to Bangladesh, for 353 $ per t.

Jelita. Cargo Ship, 4,912 t of metal's. Built in 1977. Indonesia Flag. Unknown owner. Sold to Bangladesh. Following gale winds, she wrecked on a coral reef and was towed to the Mombassa harbour in Kenya. The crew of 23 was abandoned and the ship was auctioned. The crew was sent home to Indonesia with 60 % of their total claim.

Jovial Duckling. Tanker, 236 m long, 13,073 t of metal's. Built in Japan in 1980. Panama Flag. Double hull. Operated regulary in Nothern Europe. Detained in Baltimore and Gibraltar in 2002 following deficiencies. Beached in Turkey following an engine breakdown in the summer of 2004. Sold for demolition in Bangladesh for 347 $ per t.

Linnea. (Ex. Ovik Saga). Passenger / General Cargo Ship 1,500 t of metal's. Built in 1964. British Virgin Islands Flag. After being abandoned for 10 years in Thailand and in Malaysia, sold for demolition in Bangladesh. Linked Greenland and Denmark, 197 passengers.

Lyra. (Ex. Sirius). Bulk Carrier 176 m long, 27,140 t of metal's. Built in Japan in 1976. Cereal carrier. Cyprus Flag. Sold to be demolished in Bangladesh for 350$ per t.

Pageia. (Ex.???? Russian Flag) Research Ship, 7,836 t of metal's plus 300 t of aluminium. Bought as is in Cyprus for 385 $ per t.

Spirit of Yahveh. Bulk Carrier 154 m long, 5,445 t of metal's. Cereal carrier. Built in Japan in 1980. Panama Flag. Ex. Lion Glory, Orion Glory, Odelia, Eastern Glory, Handysize Bulker. In Sri Lanka, the crew of 20 called to justice the ship owner for not paying 140,611 SGD (Singapore $).

Triumph. Bulker, 6,750 t of metal's. Built in Japan in 1976. Liberia Flag. Sold for demolition to Bangladesh.
Two large Bulgarian and Ukrainian fishing boats, Amfibio (Ex. Ofélia). 88 m long built in 1975 in Poland and the Westfishing (Ex. Orkevi), 62 m long, built in 1984 in Eastern Germany, USSR Flag until 1992, both were sold for demolition in India.

A number of other boats are waiting to be scrapped since the beginning of 2006 but contracts with the ship-breaking yards are not finalised. They include Grampian City, Kommandor Amalie, NCC Jizan, Chevron Mississippi, Sentosa, Chios Horizon.

Analysis: Traditionally the month of January is quiet in the ship-breaking trade, this pause has inscribed itself within a scarce market since the 2nd half of 2005. The demolition shipyards have not yet seen the repercussions from the partial withdrawal of single hull oil tankers.

The Rotterdam case: The Ocean Liner Rembrandt (Ex. Rotterdam). Launched in 1958, it should be converted into a floating hotel in Rotterdam. She is undergoing major careening work in Cadiz, Spain. In a couple of weeks she should leave for the Gdansk Ship yard in Poland for asbestos removal work. The asbestos volume is not known. Partial asbestos removal would be carried out in proportion of the ship’s new calling and should respect her luxurious decoration. The file was never addressed to our knowledge in the light of the Basel convention or of any other European agreement on asbestos waste.

Sources: Abandoned Seafarers Andrew Mwangura, Business Line, Clarkson’s World shipyard Monitor, Clarkson’s Shipping Intelligence Network, Clarkson’s Shipping Intelligence Weekly, Equasis, Freshly Minted Marine, IACS Permanent Secretariat’s Report, James Fisher and Sons plc Annual Report and Financial Statements, Lloyd’s List, Maritime Matters, Mémorandum de Tokyo, Newsroom – Detentions, Online edition of Daily News, Seatrends, SRJ Ship Repair Journal, files and personal sources of Robin des Bois.