Introducing Anchorages as Mines: Turning Idle Ships into Green-Steel Assets

Turning old ships into new green steel

Elegant Exit Company carried out a pilot ship recyling project in Arab Ship Repair & Building Yard in Bahrain. The project successfully explored sustainable and environmentally responsible methods for dismantling end-of-life ships.

The vessel was acquired through a competitive open tender by our wholly owned EU-based subsidiary, EEC Trading BV. It was then transferred to our subsidiary EEC Trading Bahrain WLL, which led the demolition and trading of recyclables.

Objectives

Implementing a structured ship recycling process
Ensuring adherence to international guidelines and the most stringent ship recycling standards EU SRR / UAE SRR
Reducing environmental hazards through effective legal waste management by using authorised waste management vendors and compliance with Supreme Council of Environment's guidelines/supervision
Monitoring by the original shipowner's Safety Representative
Improving worker safety and well-being
Assessing economic viability and scalability

Vessel selection

We selected the 160m container ship "EEC" (formerly Wan Hai 165), with a 17,717 MT DWT capacity, belonging to a reputed ship owner with high ESG commitments.

Facility selection

We chose the yard based on its location and EU/UAE SRR certification. We reviewed their Ship Recycling Facility Plan during our site visit.

Process & Monitoring

We tracked project outcomes at set stages. Regulatory authorities oversaw all operations to ensure we met international standards.

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Recycling process

Layup berth

Stripping of deck equipment and removable machineries in engine room
Removal of accommodation block
Canoe Cutting

Dry dock

Canoe cut hull enters the dock
Cut into various block sizes
Blocks moved to secondary cutting area via SPMT

Secondary and tertiary cutting areas

Blocks cut into smaller parts - secondary and tertiary cuts
Segregated into melting scrap and plates
Recycled parts prepared for transportation

View the the recycling process in depth (PDF)

Ship-To-Green-Steel (S2GS) Transactional Process

Ship Acquisition

EEC BV (based in The Netherlands) purchased Wan Hai 165 directly from the ship owner.

Title Transfer

Ownership was legally transferred from EEC BV to EEC Trading Bahrain WLL.

Yard Contract

EEC Trading Bahrain contracted ASRY to cut the vessel into scrap parts.

Scrap Transfer

After processing, ASRY handed over all recovered scrap materials back to EEC Trading Bahrain WLL.

Sale of Scrap

EEC Trading Bahrain WLL sold all scrap to dedicated steel mills who produced new steel products with the lowest carbon emissions.

EEC's pilot project shows that responsible ship recycling isn't just possible—it's already happening.

Join us on our journey to turn old ships into new green steel.