Hapag-Lloyd adopts ‘green’ ship-recycling policy

   Hapag-Lloyd officials have said the carrier will scrap older ships at “green recycling yards.”
   The company confirmed reports by Deutsche Presse-Agentur and broadcaster Deutsche Welle that it will no longer sell older ships on global markets, where they may be brought to shipbreaking beaches in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
   Hapag-Lloyd’s ship-recycling policy directs the carrier to seek recycling yards that follow environmental standards set forth in ISO 14001 and follow the guidelines of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, even though it notes full, mandatory implementation of the convention “may still take some more time.”
   A spokesman said one of its ships, the 1989-built, 3,032-TEU New Orleans Express, is being dismantled currently in an environmentally friendly and safe manner at Jiang Xiagang Changjiang Shiprecycling Yard, one of the largest ship recycling yards in China. The spokesman noted that “the work is monitored by experts commissioned by us.”