Bahrain, Maersk sign ship recycling deal

Dubai: Bahrain enters a partnership with A.P. Møller-Mærsk, a Danish shipping and logistics firm, to establish a ship recycling facility within its borders.

Under this agreement, Maersk will deliver retired vessels to the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company for dismantling in its dry dock.

The agreement was formalised by Bahrain’s ministry of transportation and telecommunications along with the ministry of industry and commerce.

Currently, most global ship recycling activities, known as shipbreaking, occur in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, and Turkey.

The shipping industry is responsible for approximately 3 per cent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Bahrain's unique advantage lies in its proximity of a dry dock, steel mill, and port facilities, offering strategic benefits for this venture.

This initiative is crucial for its potential to sustain long-term business across multiple sectors, including dry docking, steel production, and supply chains.

The Baltic and International Maritime Council forecasts that over the next decade, approximately 15,000 ships — accounting for 12.5 per cent of the global fleet — will be recycled, doubling the figures from the previous decade.