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RECYCLING THE RIVERDANCE

After the Riverdance was beached, the main priorities, according to BBC reports from February, included stabilizing the structure (from listing) and removing its oil. Holes were drilled through the ship’s hull (called “hot tapping”) and oil was removed and taken by tanker away from the site. It was originally thought that the ship could be refl oated and possibly repaired, but by March, these hopes were abandoned and it was decided that the ship needed to be dismantled on-site.

Since then, PGC has taken over the ship’s demolition and European Metal Recycling (EMR), through its facility in Liverpool, has been charged with handling the nearly 6,000 tons of metal coming from the job (mostly steel, with a small amount of “special” metals). The steel is being sorted, shredded and reportedly shipped to China, India and other locations globally.

EMR manages over 8.5 million tonnes yearly of materials from consumers, industry and demolition works. They use eight shredders at their facilities, including a mega-shredder where the scrap from the Riverdance is being managed. According to the company, their mega-shredder is one of the largest in the world, with the capacity to shred an entire vehicle in 30 seconds. The unit is driven by a 10,000-hp motor, with a rotor diameter of three metres, and uses moving hammers that shear contents of the mill against fixed anvils at rotary speeds of over 420 rpm.

Company info

Sirius House, Delta
Crescent,
Westbrook,
GB, WA5 7NS

Website:
uk.emrgroup.com

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