Carnival Corporation agreed with maritime reclamation and recycling companies Ege Celik and Simsekler to responsibly dismantle and recycle two retired ships scheduled to leave its fleet.
The move comes as part of the company’s strategy for a phased resumption of cruise vacations with specific ships and brands returning to service over time.
Carnival Corporation worked with the environmental non-profit Bellona Foundation and Sea2Cradle to formulate an approach to dismantling and recycling the ships. The organizations also helped identify best-in-class certified maritime vessel retirement solutions worldwide that are able to reuse, reclaim and recycle retired ships in support of Carnival Corporation’s commitment to a sustainable cruise industry.
Both Ege Celik and Simsekler are certified by the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. They are also strictly required to adhere to a complex matrix of global standards set forth by the European Union (EU), International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Basel Convention multilateral environmental agreement.
The recycling companies will also formulate a Ship Recycle Plan for each vessel that goes beyond what is required by consulting with Carnival Corporation’s advisor Sea2Cradle to ensure compliance with key national and international environmental standards.
Each plan will include a complete inventory of hazardous and regulated materials and the procedures planned for safely removing and processing the materials in an environmentally friendly way. Once these materials are safely removed and processed, the companies will begin dismantling each ship.
Sea2Cradle will supervise ship dismantling and recycling at the demolition yards throughout the entire process to ensure the highest health, safety and environmental standards are maintained. Sea2Cradle also estimates that a significant percentage of the ship materials from both vessels will be reused, reclaimed or recycled.
