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Peel Ports News

First warship sails into Mersey for "Green" recycling

For Immediate Release - 17 September, 2008

Falklands War veteran HMS Intrepid which arrived in the Mersey from Portsmouth today, is expected to be the first of a string of vessels to be recycled by Leavesley International under strict health, safety and environmental controls.

View larger imageHMS Intrepid arrives in the Mersey.

The company will employ a skilled onsite workforce of 50 on the former Royal Navy assault ship, after being chosen as the MoD's preferred bidder for the task, which will be carried out under the recently published DEFRA Guidance Notes on Ship Recycling and the Green Passport scheme adopted by the International Maritime Organisation.

Having secured both Liverpool City Council planning permission and the Environment Agency's Waste Management Licence, Leavesley and project partners Technical Demolition Services of Birkenhead, are expected to take some five months to complete the task at Liverpool's Canada Graving Dock.

But Stuart Halsey, Project Leader and Head of Business Development for Leavesley International, expressed optimism that HMS Intrepid would be the first of many ships to be recycled by the Liverpool operation – an initiative prompted by the growing demand for the establishment of a high quality facility in the UK as an alternative to the disposal of decommissioned warships in the Far East.

"There is no shortage of ships out there waiting to be responsibly dealt with. Their recycling is an inherently sustainable activity where over 95 per cent of the vessel's material can be reprocessed. We see Leavesley International being a permanent fixture in the Port of Liverpool."

The Mersey, he said, was chosen as the right location in which to undertake the work because the Port of Liverpool offered everything. "The dry dock is the right size for such projects. The port has major metal processing operations, it is centrally located and easily accessible by motorway and it has an existing skills base."

View larger imageHMS Intrepid arrives in the Mersey.

Frank Robotham, Marketing Director of Peel Ports Group, which owns and operates the Port of Liverpool, said: "The decision by Leavesley to locate this innovative recycling contract in the Port of Liverpool grafts another centre of excellence onto an already vibrant maritime sector. It not only reflects the capability of the Port to meet the requirements of this industry, but is also indicative of the rich and diverse strengths of the maritime community on Merseyside, backed by a City Council that has been pragmatic, objective and totally professional in its response to this important initiative."

HMS Intrepid was built in 1964, decommissioned in 1991 and earmarked for disposal in 1999.

Peel Ports News