NNNNNNNEWSN If you have a news story to share, contact News Editor Theo Stocker EMAIL [email protected] TEL 020 3148 4873Harbours across the UK and Europe are inundated with abandoned yachts, according
to new research. The European Union Boat Digest Project estimates that at least 6,600 and possibly as many as 23,
boats are abandoned every year.clubs and boatyards Marinas, sailing
are being clogged with unwanted glassfi bre vessels and forced to foot the bill for their disposal. In the ports of Estepona
and Manilva in Spain, the total cost is estimated to be €150,000 (£105,000) a year in lost revenue, environmental damage, legal bills
and disposal costs.lifespan of 40 years. Many are now no longer seaworthy or GRP yachts have an average
desirable but are not disposedof as easily as their wooden predecessors. According to the International Council of Marine
Industry Associations (ICOMIA), there are six million recreational boats in Europe and in France alone, 13,000 of them become
‘end-of-life’ boats each year.by the low commercial value The problem is exacerbated
of recycled GRP, and increasing costs and legal barriers to landfi ll disposal of GRP. Sweden has already banned the disposal of
GRP to landfi ll completely. spokesman and ICOMIA environment committee chairman, Brian Clark, British Marine
said: ‘Around 300,000 tonnes ofcomposite waste are produced in Europe every year from vehicles and wind turbines as well as boats.
A solution needs to be found.’and Europe is currently holding a series of conferences to look The marine industry in the UK
at options including better education, more infrastructure for dismantling yachts,
burden, better ways of recycling GRP and better yacht design to aid ‘end-of-life’ recycling.fairer sharing of the cost
currently leading the fi eld in yacht recycling. Since 2005 Japan has recycled more than 6,000 yachts France, Norway and Japan are
and France now has 23 boatyards offering environmentally friendly yacht disposal services, compared to only one in the UK, according to
the Boat Digest.Breakers scraps two or three yachts per month. ‘We deal with Portsmouth-based Boat
a lot of yachts around 22ft to 24ft in length from the 1970s and 80s,’ said spokesman Luke Edney. ‘Many people don’t realise the
costs involved. Scrapping a 23ft boat may cost around £700, but we always try to help an owner to recover those costs from recyclable
materials, and we wouldn’t scrap a boat that still has value.’solution, says Rafet Kurt, a Education is also part of the
naval architecture and marine engineering lecturer at Strathclyde University, and key researcher for the Boat Digest project.
scheme for boatyards about the issues around yacht dismantling and an awareness course to ‘We have developed a training
help owners to think about the problem,’ he said. ‘We have also created a ‘dismantling network’ of yards across Europe offering
boat recycling services.’ (see http://www.boatdigest.eu)their boat once the costs become ‘Owners cannot simply abandon
too much. There are options, including recycling, but it must be done responsibly.’ said Mr Kurt.The RYA believes the marine
industry has a greater role to play. Cruising manager Stuart Carruthers said: ‘I don’t think it is acceptable for the marine industry
to dump the problem of end-of-life boats on the end user. The car industry had the same problem until manufacturers were forced
by law to fi nd a solution. The RYA isn’t keen on legislation, but it may be what is required.’Harbours
‘clogged by
unwanted
yachts’
PHOTO: ALAMYPHOTO: DICK DURHAM
It’s often hard to tell whether boats have been abandoned or notAbandoned boats are eyesores and can pose risks to navigation and the environment‘People don’t realise that scrapping a 23ft yacht can cost around £700’If you have a news story to share, contact News Editor Theo Stocker TEL 020 3148 48734 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com JANUARY 2016