Germany Licenses Emden Shipyard to Become First Local Ship Recycler
Emden Werft and Dock, which has been a provider of repair and conversion services for over 100 years, is set to become Germany’s first maritime recycling facility. According to The Munich Eye, the shipyard located on the Ems River in Western Germany near the border with the Netherlands recently received final government approvals to add a recycling element to its business.
The approval process for the facility took approximately one year, and it is now ready to launch as EWD Benli Recycling in partnership with ReLog, a German recycling company. According to the reports, it has become the only company in Germany with the necessary permits.
Management of EWD Benli Recycling, the newspaper reports, sees a significant market demand for ship recycling. In its applications to the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment and the trade supervisory authorities in Oldenburg and Emden, the company highlighted the opportunities to recycle vessels from government agencies as well as inland water vessels, coastal vessels, and smaller passenger ships and ferries. Bjorn Sommer, who heads the dock company and now the recycler, reports they will be able to handle anything that can enter the port through the sea lock.
The yard reports it has begun following up on earlier inquiries it started receiving after announcing that it was filing for the permits. They said the operation in addition to serving vessels, could handle wind turbines and other industrial structures that could be moved to its facility.
Emden, they emphasized, is well suited for the operation because the seaport is “storm proof” because of its location and the sea lock, and approved as an emergency port by the German authorities. The yard has sealed areas, modern docks, and cranes, all of which can be used to support the recycling operation and meet the requirements of the EU. They emphasized that they will focus on the retention and repurposing of raw materials from the ships.
The shipyard has been owned by the Bremerhaven-based Benli Group since 2020. It has strong experience with industrial plants, onshore and offshore wind turbines, and other industrial applications, which all might become clients for the recycling operation.
The EU has strict standards both for the environment in which vessels are dismantled as well as for the recycling of materials. Experts have highlighted that this has created a strong demand for the services and expect the recycling business for smaller vessels will grow in the coming years after fleets modernize to meet the emerging environmental regulations.