Bahrain’s Ministries of Transportation & Telecommunications and of Industry & Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with A.P. Moller–Maersk to explore and establish a ship recycling initiative in Bahrain.
Strategic partners involved in the project, including ASRY, SULB Company and APM Terminals Bahrain, attended the signing ceremony.
Under the MoU, the Ministries will provide regulatory support to ASRY, which will prepare its yard and docks for the ship recycling process. A.P. Moller–Maersk will contribute technical guidance to implement sustainable practices in recycling operations. SULB will recycle and process steel from ships for both local and international markets.
In addition, this initiative, the first of its kind in Bahrain, aims to create a ship recycling and green steel ecosystem, fostering collaboration between government and industry to ensure sustainable practices and support Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals.
“Maersk has established a ship recycling programme governed by our own Responsible Ship Recycling Standards (RSRS) independent of geography. The standards comprise stringent interpretation of the guidelines laid out by the IMO through the Hong Kong Convention and exceed requirements on several parameters, including downstream waste management, standards on labour and human rights, anti-corruption,” stated Ahmed Hassan, senior vice president, head of Asset Strategy, A.P. Moller–Maersk.
Through this collaboration, Bahrain is enhancing its capability to meet the expected surge in demand by 2028. Maersk contributes expertise, having successfully recycled 22 vessels worldwide in the past eight years without any incidents or operational delays.
“We are proud to bring our technical and operational knowledge to the Kingdom of Bahrain and share it with like-minded stakeholders that will help the industry address the capacity challenges we are staring at in the future. We are hopeful that this MoU will provide the right platform to accelerate responsible ship recycling in the Kingdom, create a positive impact on the country’s economy and create jobs,” said Hassan.
