95 Life cycle of ships: reliable guidance “Demolition and recycling of a cruise vessel is quite different from a cargo vessel because of the sheer size and volume of accommodation. Before the steel of a vessel can be cut, the interior needs to be taken out, and for cruise vessels this has proven to be quite a challenge. We have seen that the interiors of the vessels we have dealt with were not designed to be taken apart easily, or at least the recycling yard had no idea how to disassemble the interior in such a way that most of the material could be saved and reused. As a result, walls and ceilings of cabins and other parts of the accommodation are mostly torn or broken out and potentially good materials go to waste. Really sustainable maritime interiors would need to follow the cradle-to-cradle concept. We believe that a lot more material from cruise vessels could be reused or recycled, and ultimately material loops could be closed, if end-of-life recycling would be taken into account in the design and building phase. Sea2Cradle’s advice to companies responsible for interior design projects would thus be to design and build the interior of vessels with the end of life in mind, focusing on modular design and ease of disassembly, and only using materials that can be reused or recycled.” – Bert van Grieken, Commercial Director, Sea2Cradle B.V. “We’re happy to share some of our focus points for the large yachting sector when it comes to interiors: • Apply life-cycle assessment (LCA) when selecting materials and interior elements in the design process so the entire life cycle is overseen and optimised for. Considering impact and waste throughout the build and maintenance stages, but also especially end of life, is often overlooked in the design stage, creating a problem when an interior is being taken out. • Actively propose sustainable solutions and choices to clients, based on the LCA approach. • Use recycled materials: impacts administered to a secondary user are significantly lower than the first user of virgin materials. Use natural materials and source as local as possible. • Select materials that require little climatisation so that the HVAC system’s capacity and thus onboard energy consumption can be kept to a minimum. • Reduce interior weight as much as possible by selecting lightweight materials or working with panels instead of massive products. • We are currently working to provide a tailored LCA course with an accredited provider.” – Robert van Tol, Water Revolution Foundation
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=