End of life vessels – future solutions?

As vessels age, their value decreases and they can eventually be sold for less money than the cost of responsible waste management. This means the last owner of the vessel may not have the funds to afford responsible disposal, and as such, it gets abandoned and/or sits in an ever deteriorating condition in the port, harbour or marina. 

This article highlights the main challenges for EoL vessels and briefly touches on the statutory vessel removal powers of harbour authorities. We also investigate how other countries deal with EoL vessels, what the future policy options are in the UK and discuss what harbour authorities and marina operators can do to push for future policy change.

What are the main challenges that EoL vessels face?

According to a report from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on EoL vessels in February 2023 (End of life vessels in the UK), the main challenges with EoL vessels are:

"1. The cost of disposing of end-of-life recreational vessels is high.

 2. There is not sufficient infrastructure to support waste management of recreational  vessels.

 3. Vessel owners are not aware of how to dispose of vessels.

 4. It is difficult to trace owners of recreational vessels that have been abandoned."

The UK does not have a mandatory registration system for recreational vessels, which makes it hard to trace the offender and provides little-to-no deterrent for this activity. 

What are the statutory vessel removal powers of harbour authorities?

Although there are various statutory powers for SHAs which might be exercisable depending on the circumstances (please see our other articles 'A boatload of problems' and '(Don’t) abandon ship!' in relation to the statutory vessel removal powers of harbour authorities) and mooring terms and conditions can provide contractual remedies. None of these prevent the SHA or marina operator being left with both the problem vessel and the disposal cost where the EoL vessel has no or very low value and the owner of it has limited or no funds.

Vessel disposal elsewhere

Other countries, who appear to be further along the journey of dealing with EoL vessels include:

• France – which has 20+ registered disposal sites for recycling EoL vessels.
• Finland – which has a patented procedure to re-use GRP for building materials.
• Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands – which produces new products with flaked waste GRP. 

Some other countries (OSPAR nations) use the following methods to deal with EoL vessels:

1. Extended producer responsibility
2. Annual tax on recreational vessels 
3. Government funded waste management schemes
4. Mandatory registration

Future policy options in the UK

DEFRA’s reports in February and March 2023 (End of life vessels in the OSPAR maritime area) on EoL vessels identified five policy options for the UK, most of which are currently used in OSPAR nations:

1. Extended producer responsibility - designed to decrease the overall environmental impact of the vessel by making the manufacturer responsible for the disposal of the vessel. This cost of disposal is likely to be passed onto the initial owner, through an increase in vessel purchase price, or an additional charge, who normally is much more financially able to deal with this cost than the final owner. France uses this option as a mandatory compliance scheme for recreational vessels between 2.5 and 24 metres long. The manufacturer pays a tax when the vessel is sold. The scheme finances a network of dismantling centres.
2. Mandatory registration of vessels - this was ranked as the most favourable option by stakeholders in DEFRA’s report. However, there are still issues with this option, for example, registration not being transferred on sale, compliance and enforcement of the regime, and the fact that it does not get to the route issue of dealing with the cost of disposing of vessels where the final owner has limited or no funds.
3. Establishing national guidance on waste management of EoL vessels - while this wouldn’t deal with the route issue of cost, it could help to make owners aware of their responsibilities and the cost associated with responsible disposal. 
4. Circular design (i.e. eliminating waste and maximising re-use) - we are aware of a couple of boat manufacturers looking into this option, one is already implementing it in their designs.
5. Public funding for end of life vessels - this would directly deal with the issue of harbour authorities and marina operators being left to bear the costs.

What can harbour authorities and marina operators do to push for future policy change?

Without clear evidence of the scale of the problem around the coast, it is very unlikely there will be significant policy change. For example DEFRA, in its March 2023 paper, suggested (among other options) developing a methodology to monitor EoL vessels. This reporting system would provide a clearer picture of the EoL vessel disposal issue, in turn helping to ‘inform the development of policies that are proportionate and effective’ to tackle the issue. Unless the scale of the issue is clearly documented, then any policies made are unlikely to properly address matters.

As such it is imperative that harbour authorities and marina operators keep very clear records of the number and type of vessels they are dealing with and the costs they are incurring in dealing with them.  This information can be passed on and logged through regional ports / harbour groups and national organisations such as UK Harbour Master’s Association (UKHMA) and the British Ports Association (BPA) when they call for data.  

In addition ‘The Green Blue’ has a feature on its website where anyone can report the sighting of an abandoned EoL vessel. These reports are then added to a database to create a comprehensive map of all reported abandoned vessel sightings around the UK, and can include photos of the vessel and a description of what type of vessel and when it was sighted.  

There are various other initiatives and projects running throughout the UK to try and help solve the issues surrounding EoL vessels and their disposal. 

One such project has been conducted by South Hams District Council, in conjunction with various project partners, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and supported by BM Longworth. The latter is a UK company that has developed a process called DEECOM®, which uses heat pressure and steam on glass reinforced plastics (GRP) and fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), also known as fibreglass, to recover fibres that can be collected and potentially reused. You can read the full project paper here. 

Conclusion

The pre-existing problem of EoL vessel abandonment is set to become an increasingly sizeable issue. While harbour authorities have possible legal avenues they can explore to deal with getting rid of EoL vessels that end up in their jurisdictions, this does not always get to the route of the issue, namely the cost and method of disposal and who pays for it. 

Hopefully by increasing awareness of the prevalence of the issue, and by finding more sustainable ways to dispose of EoL vessels, informed policy can be implemented, and responsible disposal can become more common, in turn reducing the issue for harbour authorities. 

If you would like advice, please contact Lara Moore or Emily Woof in the marine team who would be happy to assist.