Designing efficient contemporary ship recycling yards through discrete event simulation

Today, the ship recycling industry is going through a transitional phase in order to comply with the new regulations which are forcing ship recycling yard owners to invest and improve yards. One way to compensate these investments is to optimise the current process and increase the efficiency; however, in the literature there is a gap on detailed approach to optimization of ship recycling processes. This paper aims to develop a framework for the ship recycling industry in order to improve and optimise the ship recycling procedures. This aim is achieved through preparation of simulation models in the ARENA software with current and alternatives practices/processes for every step of ship recycling. The simulation framework developed has been applied for a ship recycling yard in EU as a case study. Bottlenecks in the current process were identified and through simulations alternative solutions were considered to optimise the process. Potential improvements for the yard with simulation approach were summarized in this paper

A study on evaluating the status of current occupational training in the ship recycling industry in Bangladesh

Essential to steel production in Bangladesh, the ship recycling industry has become a vital component of the country’s economy. After four decades of growth, Bangladesh continues to compete with India to lead the international ship recycling industry. In the Chittagong area, the ship recycling sector, and related downstream activities, provides employment and resources to nearby communities. Despite its profitability and income generation, poor working practices and low environmental standards tarnish the image of the sector at national and international levels. Numerous accidents and fatalities in ship recycling processes highlight the lack of adequate Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards. Seasonal migrant workers, many of whom unfamiliar with industrial settings, represent the majority of workers in ship recycling yards. Recruited by subcontractors, most of the workers in Bangladesh lack sufficient hazard awareness and basic safety requirements necessary to work in a ship recycling yard. For these reasons, as identified by the Bangladesh High Court and subsequent national rules, training of workers must be addressed in yards in Bangladesh. In this study, associated with the IMO-NORAD SENSREC project, existing conditions, solely about workers’ training, has been addressed, assessed, and compared in accordance with IMO’s Hong Kong Convention and ILO requirements, where detailed recommendations were provided to enhance OHS training in the yards

An approach to advance circular practices in the maritime industry through a database as a bridging solution

The concept of maritime circularity has gained increasing attention to address challenges arising from the net-zero targets of the maritime industry. The circular economy provides potential solutions to address these challenges through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling practices. However, the industry faces complex challenges, including inefficient reverse supply chains, a lack of awareness about circular economy principles, standardisation issues, and the need for digital infrastructure to provide vital information in the sector. These challenges prevent the implementation of circularity practices, as access to crucial data throughout the vessel’s life cycle is obstructed. This novel research aims to create a robust first-of-its-kind database solution specifically designed to support the industry’s shift towards circularity. The database will facilitate fast and transparent information flow between the stakeholders, providing foundations for asset tracking and a robust reverse supply chain. A case study was conducted to show that a database could help extract higher financial value from end-of-life ships by over 80%. The ageing fleet increases the urgency of utilising such a database, which could be a pivotal strategy for a sustainable and circular industry. This digital solution offers significant benefits to all industry stakeholders and allows holistic resource management, influencing maritime operations’ sustainability, resilience, and profitability

Towards a circular maritime industry : identifying strategy and technology solutions

Shipping is considered one of the most energy-efficient modes, considering the amount of cargo that can be carried. On the other hand, the circular economy approach is not well-established in the maritime industry, which currently lags behind different transport modes. The maritime industry needs scientific support to “close the loop”, minimise waste and increase the revenue stream. Therefore, this study aims to address a critical gap in the maritime industry by first showing the understanding of the stakeholders and identifying suitable strategy and technology solutions that can fit the characteristics of the maritime industry. Moreover, the potential benefits of these solutions have been demonstrated through high-speed marine engine remanufacturing. A cost-benefit analysis has shown that remanufactured engine acquisition cost is nearly half of the cost of a new engine with similar operating performance and operating cost. This study is a novel contribution to maritime industry stakeholders to demonstrate the advantages of circular end-of-life applications

Development and research directions in ship recycling : a systematic literature review with bibliometric analysis

Ship recycling has gained significant importance in recent years due to the growing awareness of environmental concerns and the need for sustainable practices within the maritime industry. As vessels reach the end of their operational life, proper recycling methods are crucial to mitigate environmental impacts and promote resource conservation. With an increasing number of ships being decommissioned annually, there has been a growing interest and emphasis on developing efficient and eco-friendly ship recycling practices worldwide. This article presents a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of 228 studies on ship recycling indexed in Scopus. Employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) methodology for its robustness in comprehensive literature analysis, this review uncovers key insights into prominent countries, authors, journals, collaborations, topics, and historical trends in ship recycling research, thereby extending the scope of previous reviews. Notably, major contributions from Turkey, India, Bangladesh, the USA, and China focus on environmental impact studies, reflecting urgent global sustainability concerns. The review discusses commonly adopted methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessment and Elemental Analysis, shedding light on their application in this field. Through thematic analysis across 8 categories, future research pathways are identified, highlighting crucial areas such as continuous environmental monitoring, innovative renewable energy extraction from end-of-life vessels, and the need for human factors in ship recycling. This comprehensive synthesis of existing knowledge and identification of emergent research needs and opportunities serve as a foundational resource for impactful future research and informed policymaking, particularly in aligning with global environmental and sustainability goals. Researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders in maritime safety and environmental sustainability may find the knowledge gained from this systematic literature review insightful

Workers' exposure to dust and potentially toxic elements during steel cutting in two ship dismantling cases

Ship dismantling is the recommended recycling solution for the end of a ship’s life, but the process is not free of occupational risk. Despite proper regulations, there are underlying chemical and physical hazards, mainly due to the cutting of steel parts, which is the core of the recycling process. The overall aim of this research study is to determine, in two case study examples, the ship recycling workers’ potential occupational exposure by inhalation of chemical agents generated by the torch cutting process of coated and de-coated steel. This was carried out specifically through (i) monitoring and measuring ship recycling workers’ local environment for the inhalable (total dust) and respirable (fine dust) fractions during their working operations, (ii) analysing the heavy metal content of the dust and (iii) calculating and comparing this against occupational exposure limits, (v) comparing de-coating operations with cutting of coated and de-coated steel. Results of this study show that without further mitigation workers involved in torch cutting processes are at high risk of exposure to heavy metals by inhalation as these are exceeding the norms defined by regulatory bodies

Adjacency-based facility layout optimization for shipyards : a case study

A shipyard located in Yalova, Turkey, with an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tons of steel, is studied to improve the layout to increase the production efficiency. The material and personnel traffic inside the shipyard is complex, considering the nature of the shipyards. Therefore, an adjacency-based optimization procedure has been adopted in this study since this procedure allows quantitative evaluation of these aspects. Systematic layout planning (SLP) and graph-theoretical approach were used to generate 12 alternative layouts. Then, the best alternative layout was selected using the efficiency rate method. This study demonstrates the use of SLP and graphic-theoretical approach in a maritime context and utilizes the efficiency rate method to compare the alternative layouts, which are between 48.91% and 73.91% efficiencies, respectively. This study is a novel contribution to the literature in terms of demonstrating this methodology for shipbuilding applications, and practical applications for the industry can improve the industry to improve the efficiency of their operations

Hong Kong Convention compliant ship recycling yard design for up to 30,000 dwt ships

The study is aimed to design a ship recycling yard in Indonesia which comply to the requirements stated in the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships with the capacity up to 30,000 dwt. The study was conducted based on information gathered from field and literature survey. It is estimated that there are approximately 1,400 ships in Indonesia have reached more than 25 years, which need to be replaced by the new ones and will be sent for recycling, but there is not any ship recycling yard that is comply to the Hong Kong Convention requirements, and most of the ship recycling activities are carried out in traditional ways. It is expected that the proposed design will become a reference for ship recycling industry in Indonesia