John Lawrie Metals, a metal waste recycling and processing company in Aberdeen, has completed decommissioning of general cargo vessel Kaami in partnership with Kishorn Port Limited. The project involved the downsizing and recycling of the ship, which had been recovered six miles off the North West coast of Skye after running aground in March.

Working to European ship recycling and SEPA regulations, John Lawrie’s team from its Evanton base in Easter Ross carried out decommissioning work including the downsizing of the full structure. A total of 1200 tonnes of material has been recovered and shipped for processing and recycling. Following a review in conjunction with the client, certain elements of the material have been considered for reuse purposes such as the propeller and the wheelhouse.

By processing and recycling the metal from the Kaami, the amount of waste being sent to landfill has been significantly reduced. After the material was sorted and segregated and the metal processed, it was shipped direct from site by sea to a steel mill in Europe for smelting, ready to be made into new products. Shipping direct from site also saved transportation by road (approximately 48 articulated vehicle loads negated) and therefore helped to cut emissions.

Kaami grounding

Built in 1994, the vessel, owned by Norway’s Misje Rederi, was sailing under the flag of Bahamas when it ran aground on 23 March this year while transiting the Little Minch, Scotland. The open-hatch singledecker was carrying a cargo of pelletized refuse-derived fuel at the time of the incident. Salvors removed the cargo from the ship after which it was repaired to be refloated. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is currently still investigating the cause of the accident. The vessel’s length overall was 89.8 metres and width 13.19 metres.

The project team, consisting of six onsite with additional HSEQ and project support from the company’s Aberdeen headquarters, was mobilised on Monday 18th May with the project reaching completion on Tuesday 30th June, just six weeks later. Overall, it was a thirteen-week turnaround from initial consultation to delivering depolluted and fully recycled material to the steel mill.

Kishorn Dry Dock

Located on the north west coast of Scotland, Kishorn Port and Dry Dock is used for the manufacturing, laydown and assembly of renewable energy devices for offshore wind, wave and tidal sectors as well as the oil and gas and decommissioning industry. The dock was fully opened to the sea for the first time in 25 years in order to welcome the MV Kaami.

The overall size of the dry dock equates to around 160 x 160 metres providing more than adequate space for cranes, handling equipment, trucks and vehicles to access the site safely. The size and capacity of the dock enables staff and contractors to work at a safe distance, in line with current government guidelines due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Watch a video of the decommissioning below.