| dc.description.abstract | Ship recycling is an issue currently causing a lot of concern and debates in the globalized world. Around 70% of all end-of-life ships and more than 90% of the EU fleet, are recycled on the beaches of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, causing serious environmental and health hazards. At the same time, ship recycling is a source of valuable recyclable materials, mainly steel scrap used for steel making. India is the 4th largest steel producing country in the world, having a high demand for steel scrap and at the same time accounts for the largest share of the ship recycling activity worldwide. The objective of the study is to provide insight to the relationship between ship recycling and the steel industry in India, with a focus on European ships. Although this relationship is very crucial for the ship recycling issue as a whole, it is one of the least researched angels. A hypothetical scenario is developed assuming that all EU ships recycled in India during 2012 were actually not recycled in India and consequently, the corresponding steel scrap was not available for steel production. The issues that are investigated include the alternative materials that could substitute ships’ scrap for steel making, as well as the related CO2 emissions and overall environmental impacts for the production of the substitute materials. The analysis reveals that in order to substitute steel scrap from ship recycling in India, production of direct reduced iron (DRI) as well as steel from induction furnaces (IFs) would have to increase. Furthermore, the production of these materials would result in additional CO2 emissions as well as extensive soil and air pollution, especially for the case of DRI, due to significant waste generation combined with improper handling and disposal. Therefore, the main conclusion is that ship recycling has a particular importance for the case of India because of the special nature of the Indian steel industry, relying mostly on energy intensive and polluting processes for iron and steel production. In that way, ship recycling can have positive environmental impacts by contributing to CO2 savings related to steel production. However, the results represent only one side of the issue and for that reason they are presented in the form of trade-offs. Ship recycling can contribute in a positive way to steel production in India, if at the same time the negative impacts of the ship recycling activity are dealt with in a proper way. | |
