{"id":156569,"date":"2026-06-03T15:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=156569"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:47:29","slug":"how-turkey-became-a-global-ship-recycling-hub-lessons-to-learn-with-ai-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/06\/03\/how-turkey-became-a-global-ship-recycling-hub-lessons-to-learn-with-ai-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"How Turkey Became a Global Ship Recycling Hub -Lessons to learn \u00a0with AI assistance\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Turkey concentrated ship recycling activities in Alia\u011fa during the 1970s and developed nearby steel mills that could immediately consume recycled steel from ships. Today, the area handles ships, offshore platforms, FPSOs, naval vessels, and large commercial ships under regulated environmental standards.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key advantage is that recovered steel does not travel far. It is quickly processed by nearby steel plants, creating a circular economy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Floating Dock Connection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Turkey has also invested heavily in very large floating docks for ship repair and conversion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Sefine Shipyard commissioned a floating dock 360 m long with a lifting capacity of 75,000 tonnes. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Be\u015fikta\u015f Shipyard operates one of Europe\u2019s largest floating docks, capable of handling FSRUs, FPSOs, rigs, and large commercial vessels. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Hat-San Shipyard recently launched new floating dock facilities to service large vessels. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    These docks were primarily built for repair, maintenance, and conversion. However, the same engineering capability could be adapted to support dismantling and recycling operations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Model Sri Lanka Could Study<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For Sri Lanka, the opportunity may be even bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of beaching ships, Sri Lanka could investigate a floating recycling dock<\/strong> stationed at a deep-water location such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Trincomalee Harbour<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Hambantota Port<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      A large vessel nearing the end of its life could be brought into the floating dock. Hazardous materials could be removed safely, sections cut systematically, and steel transferred directly to barges or shore facilities. This would avoid many environmental problems associated with traditional beaching methods. Turkey\u2019s move toward more environmentally controlled recycling provides useful lessons.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Why This Could Be Revolutionary for Sri Lanka<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Sri Lanka imports large quantities of steel every year while thousands of ships worldwide reach the end of their economic lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A national strategy could combine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Ship recycling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Steel recovery and re-rolling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Steel fabrication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Modular housing production.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. Steel bridge fabrication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      6. Prefabricated industrial buildings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      7. Vocational training for welders, fabricators, and marine engineers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Turkey\u2019s example shows that the real value is not merely scrapping ships. The value comes from creating an entire downstream steel industry around ship recycling.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        For the Chamber of Construction Industry discussion, a provocative proposition would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Sri Lanka should not view end-of-life ships as scrap. They should be viewed as floating steel mines. A strategically located floating recycling dock in Trincomalee or Hambantota could become the foundation of a domestic steel industry supporting construction, shipbuilding, infrastructure, and manufacturing while creating thousands of skilled jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        That concept aligns directly with the broader argument that Sri Lanka needs to move from labour-intensive brick-and-cement construction toward a steel-based industrial economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Regards

        Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Dr Sarath Obeysekera Turkey concentrated ship recycling activities in Alia\u011fa during the 1970s and developed nearby steel mills that could immediately consume recycled steel from ships. Today, the area handles ships, offshore platforms, FPSOs, naval vessels, and large commercial ships under regulated environmental standards.   A key advantage is that recovered steel does not travel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156570,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156569\/revisions\/156570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}