Zbornik radova Koridor 10 - Kirilo Savić

3rd International Scientific and Professional Conference
CORRIDOR 10 - a sustainable way of integrations
1. INTRODUCTION
The Danube as the largest and most important waterway in Serbia, also represents the waterway
corridor VII, which is the only waterway from the ten pan-European corridors. Bearing in mind the
international importance of the European waterway, modernization and renewal of vessels navigating
the Danube is necessary. This necessarily entails dismantling a number of vessels. Dismantling of
vessels considered as a sustainable process can be a significant source of recyclable waste, as a
base for the renewal material resources. This is very important for a developing country such as
Serbia, from economic aspects, particularly from the aspect of environmental protection.
Dismantling of vessels through the shipbreaking industry, from the point of ship owners, should
provide a cash flow for the renewal of fleet, by dispensing aged or irreparably damaged ships or
vessels that cannot be used further due to the changing international legislation. From the point of
view of world’s environment, re-use of scrap iron and steel, which is the main output of the
shipbreaking industry, is an environment-friendly activity since it reduces the need for mining and
production of raw metal, mainly, pig iron, which is the main input of steel industry. When looked on the
micro-scale, scrapping of old vessels is a serious challenge for the local environment and sometimes a
challenge for the health of workers. [1]
Until 1970s, shipbreaking was a common industrial activity both in the United States of America and in
Europe. Specialized salvage docks, equipped with cranes and other heavy equipment, were used to
scrap the ships, providing material for the steel industry. Obtained scrap metal was sold in countries
with few natural metal resources, at a high profit [2].
In the western world, shipbreaking is an area that is viewed with suspicion due to the high level of
environmental awareness. The same environmental awareness has been reflected to both national
and international authorities who adopted preventative measures against the unsafe, primitive
conditions of scrapping yards in developing countries in order to maintain the industry at a sustainable
level.
Within the 1992-1999 period, between 2% and 4% of the world fleet was scrapped annually. The
world’s demand for shipbreaking is predicted in a report prepared by Baltic and International Maritime
Council (BIMCO): a scenario predicts that in 2016, the annual amount of ships that will be
decommissioned (vessels greater than 2000 gross tonnes) will range from 6 to 8 million light
displacement tonnes (LDT) [3].
The shipbreaking industry is important for a number of groups: vessel owners who are in need of
converting their aged or non-usable vessels into money for the maintenance of their fleets, developing
countries where shipbreaking is an important industry for the country’s economy and steel industry
who are dependent on this vast source of raw material. These groups have the tendency to ignore
negative environmental effects, conditions related to labour safety and occupational health issues.
Apart from steel, other scrap metals and alloys such as copper, bronze, brass and aluminium are also
obtained, as well as certain outfit and machinery from vessels that are re-used by the maritime
industry.
Vessel may be inspected for a hazardous waste inventory and as much equipment and loose outfit are
removed from superstructures. This also allows the yard owners to minimize the time the vessel
spends in the shipbreaking yard.
Legislation
In Serbia there is no specific legislation dealing with waste from dismantling of vessels, not even the
waste from vessels at all. For these reasons it can not be given a summary of the current shipbreaking
regulations, existing legislation and rules related to shipbreaking in Serbia. For these reasons
following regulations can be considered relevant:
Rulebook on the content of documents to be submitted with the application for a license to
import, export and transit of waste ("RS Official Gazette", No. 60/09 and 101/10), this is
instead of old federal regulations ("RS Official Gazette", No. 69/99)
Law on Waste Management ("RS Official Gazette", No. 36/09 and 88/10)
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