Hapag-Lloyd Praised for Green Ship Recycling

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has received the “DNV GL Excellence Green Star” certificate in recognition of its compliance with the highest standards in ship recycling.

DNV GL presented the certificate to the liner company at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg on Wednesday, September 5.

“In 2007, Hapag-Lloyd was the world’s first container shipping line to be certified with DNV GL’s ‘Excellence – 5 Stars’ award. We are very happy to continue this tradition,” said Hapag-Lloyd COO Anthony J. Firmin.

“Hapag-Lloyd will continue to spearhead efforts to make ship recycling greener, seeking innovative ways to conserve global resources and protect the environment.”

Hapag-Lloyd’s ship recycling program includes partnering with yards that discard hazardous waste in accordance with ISO 14001 standards and the guidelines of the Hong Kong Convention.

The carrier is also monitoring and documenting the ship recycling process, preempting the stricter rules that will apply under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) from year-end.

“With the ‘DNV GL Excellence Green Star’ certificate, we recognize Hapag-Lloyd’s commitment to being out in front of the regulatory agenda, by voluntarily implementing a compliance regime that will reduce the environmental impact of their recycling program,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime.

Speaking at the event a day earlier, Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said that the liner company is facing around USD 1 billion of extra fuel costs stemming from the new sulphur regulations entering into force in 2020.

“We have a real problem in our hands, and we need to figure out what are we going to do about it,”Jansen said.

The company is testing scrubbers on two large containerships and exploring the benefits of LNG as fuel, but believes that the majority of ships will have to switch to a different fuel come 2020.