Japan tests high-tech ship breaking

Japan tests high-tech ship breaking    Japan’s largest shipping company, NYK, said its Japan Marine Science Inc. subsidiary will act as the administrator of a survey for developing an advanced ship-recycling system.
   The survey, commissioned and led by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), is a pilot model project of collaboration among industry, government, and academia. Actual recycling of ships will be conducted by member companies of the Muroran Ship Recycle Study Group, centering on Teraoka Ltd., whose head office is in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture.
   In addition to the survey and experiments in compliance with the international convention on ship recycling passed last May, the project will aim to build an advanced ship-recycling model through environment-conscious experiments in carbon dioxide-reduction methods, for example by cutting up a vessel’s hull using water jets and electric saws.
   The project will also examine the sustainability of the recycling of large vessels in Japan, as well as the possibilities of promoting such Japanese technology overseas and developing related business in other countries.