On March 6th 2018, the 353-meter Maersk Honam, ultra-large container ship (ULCS) caught fire in the Arabian Sea, en route to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Cargo holds 1, 2 & 3, forward of the accommodation as well as the entire accommodation were burnt out. The type of cargo that was affected ranges from auto-parts, machineries/equipment and hand tools to various chemicals products, bulk liquids, electronics, textiles, plastics, foodstuff, construction and building material, metals, etc.
The fire ripped through the entire forward section of the ship from bow to the superstructure. The waste generated was removed from the Vessel and transported to Port Khalid, Sharjah UAE for temporary storage in 20 feet open top shipping containers.
Green Evolution Environmental Services LLC, a Polygreen LTD company , was awarded the project on December 2019.
Operations involve environmentally sound separation, segregation, identification and classification of waste; Packaging and labeling of waste according to each type and based on international transport Codes; Transportation and Final disposal/ Recovery at accredited facilities.
A mobile laboratory equipped with modern analytical systems (GC-MS, XRD, XRF etc.) was set up and operated, constituting one of the most vital parts of the waste management process.
Approximately 20,000 tons of hazardous waste were packaged in UN approved packaging media during the onsite activities which were successfully completed in February 2021. The waste is transported in compliance to local regulations and Basel Convention, to accredited hazardous waste treatment facilities and subsequently recovered based on the principles of circular economy.
