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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
How and where does the life of a giant steel vessel end? So far, quietly on the beaches of Southeast Asia. DSM scientist Anja Binkofski is researching the opportunities that modern and sustainable ship recycling could offer in northern Germany. The Hong Kong Convention, whose entry into force will be celebrated on 26 June 2025 at the German Maritime Museum (DSM) / Leibniz Institute for Maritime History in Bremerhaven, promises more sustainable conditions for ship recycling worldwide.
A dismantled ship's hull rusts in the shallow water, in which puddles of oil shimmer in all the colours of the rainbow. Furnishing, electronics and useful goods have already been sold - a huge sales market ensures that the livelihoods of many families depend on the dangerous trade. In front of the dead colossus, workers hammer away at the remains, cutting metal plates out of the ship's skeleton with simple tools - until the skyscraper-sized monster shrinks.
An almost impossible task when you look at the tiny workers against the gigantic backdrop. What looks like a dystopian scenario is reality in Bangladesh and India. The tidal beaches there are the world's ship graveyards—80 per cent of ocean liners set course for these countries on their last voyage.
A lot is known about the birth of ships. Ship launchings are prestigious events that are celebrated in public. However, the death of the floating giants usually happens quietly, and above all dirty, in South-East Asia. Anja Binkofski, a doctoral candidate at the DSM, knows the dark side of this business. “During spring tides, the ships are driven onto the beach in India or Bangladesh and dismantled there by hand by the workers. The people there often have no protective clothing, are not protected from the toxic substances that enter the sea unhindered and are also poorly paid. What's more, the disposal of European ships in this way is illegal,” says Binkofski. The ships are secretly reflagged to disguise their origin. The owners thus avoid legal scrapping in a European shipyard, where they receive less money for the sale of the ship.
Although the sea-going giants are built in Europe and sail the oceans for up to 30 years, their life cycle ends on the beaches of South-East Asia. “In Germany, the first shipyard has just received a licence to recycle ships, while other shipyards are still waiting for their certification. High labour costs, environmental requirements and a lack of legal regulations are the reasons why this is so difficult to implement. Up to now, ships in repair yards were only allowed to be 75 per cent dismantled, and as soon as the last 25 per cent was involved, waste management regulations came into play,” says the researcher. She now wants to find out what options there are for dismantling ships in Germany - especially in northern Germany.
In her master's thesis, the cultural anthropologist examined the effects of sea level rise on the Halligen and analysed the future plans of coastal human and more-than-human residents. In her doctoral thesis, she asks whether it could be an opportunity for the ‘steel country’, Germany, to dismantle the colossi built here. “If the steel used in ships were recycled, 80 to 90 per cent of the emissions could be saved. This is because the production of steel is very energy-intensive,” found a study by the ZMT (Leibniz Centre for Tropical Maritime Research) in 2023.
The Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, which comes into force on 26 June 2025, could bring about change in the business. The Hong Kong Convention calls for environmentally friendly standards for ship recycling and fair working conditions worldwide. Toxic paint particles, oil residues and other chemicals should then no longer enter the water in an uncontrolled manner or be deposited in the sand. An inventory of hazardous materials (IHM), which has been mandatory for EU-flagged ships since 2019, ensures greater transparency regarding the materials to be disposed of, while better wages and safer working conditions have to be implemented. But the most important question remains: Who will monitor compliance? Another shortcoming: although the Hong Kong Convention is a political heavyweight, it is not legally binding.
“I'm interested in how shipyards in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Bremerhaven could implement ship recycling,” says the 28-year-old. With an intelligent circular economy, ship recycling could potentially even be an opportunity for structurally weak regions and bring a rebirth to shipyards without orders. “There is one shipyard in Bremerhaven that is thinking about it. There are two in Lower Saxony and another company in Stralsund. So far, however, the contractual regulations are complex and there is a great deal of uncertainty among the companies. Recycled steel has not yet been integrated into the circular economy on a large scale,” explains Binkofski, who studied in Bremen.
At a time when more and more people from industrialised countries are spending their holidays on cruise ships and goods are reaching supermarkets by sea, more thought should be given to the end of ships. Especially as ships are being built increasingly bigger: The largest container ship at present measures an impressive 400 metres in length.
Germany wants to pursue sustainable and environmentally friendly ship recycling - but what exactly does that mean? Binkofski ponders this question. “Ideally, dismantling should be considered at the same time as shipbuilding. What does that mean for the material? What can sustainable scrapping look like? What opportunities are there for shipyards, for example in Bremerhaven, and what are the challenges to realisation?” Companies are already testing new technologies that could help - and hopefully recycled steel can be integrated into the circular economy.
Binkofski is in dialogue with various northern German companies in the maritime industry and is eagerly awaiting the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention in June. It could send out important signals worldwide - if its implementation proves successful.
This special milestone for the maritime industry is celebrated with a national ceremony in the centre of the DSM Ship Worlds exhibition. Bremen's Senator for Economics, Ports and Transformation, the Maritime Cluster Norddeutschland e. V., the International Maritime Organisation and the DSM are inviting the maritime industry on 26 June 2025 from 3 pm to 7:30 pm.
Anja Binkofski
a.binkofski@dsm.museum
https://www.maritimes-cluster.de/maritimer-kalender/der-nationale-festakt-zum-in...
Anja Binkofski looks at ship models in the exhibition.
Annica Müllenberg
DSM / Annica Müllenberg
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Anja Binkofski looks at ship models in the exhibition.
Annica Müllenberg
DSM / Annica Müllenberg
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