THE SCRAPPING OF SHIPS

Ships are comparatively long-lived, most remaining in service for well over twenty years. There is, at present, a large amount of over-aged tonnage in service which ought already to have been scrapped and, in view of the continued rapid growth of the world merchant fleet, longer-term trends in the ship-breaking market are more than of passing interest to the shipping community. The obsolescence and eventual scrapping of shipping is not simply an ageing process and, in its introductory section, the report examines some of the factors which influence the supply of ships for breaking. These essentially revolve round profitability and future trading prospects as much as the age and general condition of the vessel, and include the size and type of the ship, its ability to compete with more modern vessels, the level of out-of-pocket operating costs, the owner's view of the market and various other considerations, such as the switching of tankers to grain, possibilities for conversion, etc. The report deals exhaustively with the future demand for iron and steel scrap from the steel industry, separate sections being devoted to long-term use trends in the Enlarged EEC, Japan and the United States, the major consuming areas. The effects of changing steelmaking technology are evaluated in order to forecast the future level of scrap consumption. Various aspects of the supply of ferrous scrap are reviewed. From an analysis of past scrapping rates and the average size, age and type of the ships broken up, an attempt has been made to estimate the gross tonnage which is likely to be withdrawn for scrapping in the 1971-80 period. The concluding section deals with the status of the shipbreaking industry, attention being paid to labour cost pressures and the necessity for improved methods for processing scrap.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Available as one document in a series of ten for approximately $100.00.
• Corporate Authors:

  Drewry (HP) (Shipping Consultants) Limited

  Palladium House, 1-4 Argyll Street
  London W1V 1AD,   England 
• Publication Date: 1973-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 50 p.
• Serial:
  • Issue Number: 18

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Equipment replacement; Ship management; Ships; Waste disposal
• Uncontrolled Terms: Vessel scrapping
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Maintenance and Preservation; Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00050985
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Drewry (HP) (Shipping Consultants) Limited
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 15 1974 12:00AM