Wallenius Wilhelmsen backs ship recycling transparency platform
Last week, the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative’s (SRTI) online platform for sharing information on shipping companies’ recycling policies and practices was launched. Having practiced responsible recycling for decades, Wallenius Wilhelmsen is proud to be a founding member.
Shipowners will use the SRTI online platform to share information on their approaches to ship recycling across a set of comprehensive disclosure criteria.
Customers and cargo owners, investors and financial stakeholders – as well as the broader public – will then be able to use this information to make informed decisions about vessel recycling.
“The SRTI empowers those who invest in or buy services from shipping companies to make informed decisions on vessel recycling,” says Craig Jasienski, President and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
“With the SRTI, they can demand transparency, helping them ensure they do business with companies that recycle responsibly, rather than those who continue with practices that have horrifying human and environmental consequences. It is unthinkable that change won’t be driven with such knowledge. It also sends a clear signal to tonnage providers on the new normal.”SRTI brings together leading shipowners, investors, banks, insurers, cargo owners and other key stakeholders from across the maritime industry. Its founding signatories include shipowners Wallenius Wilhelmsen, The China Navigation Company, Hapag Lloyd, A.P. Moeller-Maersk, NORDEN and Stolt Tankers; financial stakeholders GES, Nykredit and Standard Chartered Bank; classification society Lloyd’s Register; and NGO Forum for the Future.
Shipowners, ship recyclers and other stakeholders in the shipping value chain have different approaches to ship recycling, ranging from responsible practice to approaches with negative social and environmental consequences.
Information on these approaches has not generally been readily available, which has hampered investors’ ability to make informed decisions and mitigate risks when using ships as collateral for loans or when seeking financing for shipbuilding. Similarly, it has made it difficult for cargo owners; under increasing pressure to take responsibility for their products’ entire supply chain, they want to avoid being associated with carriers that do not recycle responsibly.
“Wallenius Wilhelmsen responsibly recycles vessels at craned berths and landing facilities which we pre-vet to ensure worker welfare and safety is front of mind, as well as to make certain materials are recycled and waste treated in an appropriate and traceable manner. We have a contracted representative on site to supervise the entire process, with the authority to stop work for safety, welfare or environmental reasons,” says Jasienski.
