Evergreen Marine joins recycling initiative

FIRST FOR TAIWAN: The company is the 11th shipowner in the world to become a member of the platform, which aims to encourage responsible ship recycling practices

By Kao Shih-ching

Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) yesterday disclosed its ship recycling policy as it joined the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI), which comprises firms that value its environmental, social and governance objectives.

The SRTI, launched in March 2018 and hosted by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, a UK-based nonprofit organization, aims to accelerate responsible ship recycling practices by asking its members to share their policies on the platform so that the public can view them, Evergreen said.

Evergreen is the first Taiwanese shipping company to join the initiative, as well as the 11th shipowner member, following founding members such as China Navigation Co Pte Ltd (太古輪船), A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, D/S Norden A/S, Hapag-Lloyd AG and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics ASA, it said.

Evergreen requires the buyers of its decommissioned vessels to guarantee that the aged vessels are demolished rather than sold to be used second-hand, while vessels can only be recycled at shipyards that are certified by the International Organization for Standardization and are recognized as a “Green Ship Recycling” shipyard by the Hong Kong convention, it said.

When a vessel is decommissioned and recycled, not only can valuable and reusable resources such as steel be recycled, but waste and pollutants that could be dangerous to people and the environment must be processed properly, Evergreen said.

Evergreen’s pro forma contract contains a liquidated damage clause, which helps deter any ill-disposed buyer from doing anything that would contravene it, the company said.

Buyers need to provide reports weekly at least on the vessel’s recycling process to show that their practices are safe and environmentally sound, Evergreen said.

The company, which operates a modern fleet of about 190 container ships with a combined capacity of more than 1.2 million twenty-feet equivalent units, said that nine of its vessels have been recycled based on the policy.

Evergreen said it has a long-standing commitment to keeping the ocean clean, and aims to ensure responsible and sustainable operations.

Joining the SRTI would likely attract more international clients that value the environmental, social and governance objectives, as they prefer shipping firms that are SRTI members, it added.

Source:https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2020/08/05/2003741119