Maersk Agrees MoU With Bahrain for Ship Recycling

Shipping giant Maersk has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Bahrain to evaluate and establish a ship recycling initiative. The agreement involves Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. 

A number of strategic partners will also be involved in the recycling initiative. These include: 

• Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY).
• SULB Company. 
• APM Terminals Bahrain (a subsidiary of Maersk). 

Under the terms of the MoU, the two ministries will be responsible for providing regulatory support to ASRY. In turn, ASRY will be responsible for equipping their yard and docks with the necessary requirements for the ship recycling process. 

Maersk’s involvement will centre on the provision of technical and operational advice, providing expertise on implementing sustainable practices and responsible standards in ship recycling. 

Finally, SULB will use the steel obtained from the ship recycling process, processing and recycling it for use in other markets. 

Ultimately, the project aims to establish a ship recycling ecosystem within Bahrain, establishing collaboration between government industry stakeholders. The MoU also establishes public-private best practices towards achieving both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Bahrain’s Economic Vision of 2030.

Commenting on the initiative and MoU, Ahmed Hassan, Senior Vice President Head of Asset Strategy at Maersk, said: 

“Maersk has established a ship recycling programme governed by our own Responsible Ship Recycling Standards (RSRS) independent of geography. The standards comprise stringent interpretation of the guidelines laid out by the IMO through the Hong Kong Convention and exceed requirements on several parameters, including downstream waste management, standards on labour and human rights, anti-corruption etc. 

We are proud to bring our technical and operational knowledge to the Kingdom of Bahrain and share it with like-minded stakeholders that will help the industry address the capacity challenges we are staring at in the future. 

We are hopeful that this MoU will provide the right platform to accelerate responsible ship recycling in the Kingdom, create a positive impact on the country’s economy and create jobs”.

The project is expected to further cement Bahrain’s growing position as a centre for sustainable and responsible ship recycling. Demand for ship recycling is expected to grow considerably as older vessels are phased out under the green transition, with Bahrain expected to benefit considerably from this development. 

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