17 october 2014

Veolia has begun the dismantling operations that will involve pollution removal, deconstruction and recycling of everything possible from the hulk of the vessel formerly known as the Jeanne d'Arc. All operations will take place at the Atlantic Port of Bordeaux. The ecologically sound works cycle will guarantee staff safety and enable over 90% of the former French Navy teaching and training ship to be recycled.

Veolia won the European-wide tender for the full dismantling of the hulks formerly known as the Jeanne d'Arc and the Colbert on behalf of the Marine Nationale, the French Navy. The company's teams are now set to begin work at the Atlantic Port of Bordeaux on the different phases that will give a second life to the materials contained in these two well-known ships. 

A recycle rate of over 90% The 32-month contract, worth 11.5 million euros, enters into the active phase today with quayside operations to remove pollution from the former Jeanne d'Arc. Ten months of work will be needed to remove all asbestos from the hulk. It will then go into Dock 3, which is 240 meters long, 35 meters wide and 15 meters high, to be totally broken up. 

This six-month phase will involve cutting up, preparing, recovering and disposing of materials. "We're aiming for a recycling rate of over 90%," says Pascal Tissot, CEO of Bartin Recycling Group, the Veolia subsidiary with responsibility for the deconstruction. "That includes scrap iron, other scrap metals, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), cables, wood, and so on. Non-recoverable waste, such as asbestos and residual wastes, will be sent to appropriate facilities."

After the 9,000 metric tons of the former Jeanne d'Arc, the 8,500 metric tons of the hulk of the Colbert will also be deconstructed and recycled at the Atlantic Port of Bordeaux and its Bassens Terminal, located at the end of the Garonne river estuary.

All the operations will be carried out in compliance with French regulations on Installations Classified for the Protection of the Environment, with the site covered by an order of the prefect on the dismantling of end-of-life vessels.

These two exceptional projects are a demonstration of Veolia's capacity to mobilize its powerful array of expertise in response to a booming industrial activity. "We are working on dismantling operations for ships, but also for offshore oil and gas platforms, airplanes and trains," says Bernard Harambillet, CEO of Veolia's waste recovery and recycling division for France. "Our objective is to offer full solutions by playing the role of integrator, and to guarantee the best possible standards for staff safety and environmental protection during sensitive operations."

Christophe Masson, Managing Director of the Atlantic Port of Bordeaux, is very happy about the development of this new activity. "The arrival of these two naval vessels confirms and strengthens our port's national position as a benchmark in deconstruction and recovery, which was reaffirmed a few days ago by Alain Vidalie, the Secretary of State for Transportation, the Sea and Fisheries."

Veolia

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 187,000 employees* worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.
In 2013, the group Veolia supplied 94 million people with drinking water and 62 million people with wastewater service, produced 54 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 38 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) recorded consolidated revenue of €23.4 billion* in 2013. www.veolia.com
(*) 2013 pro-forma unaudited figures, including Dalkia International (100%) and excluding Dalkia France. Excluding Transdev employees and revenue currently under divestment.

The Atlantic Port of Bordeaux

The Atlantic Port of Bordeaux is an industrial and logistics platform containing seven terminals spread over the 100 km of the Gironde estuary, which is the biggest in Europe.
Ideally situated on the Atlantic seaboard, the port handles between 8 and 9 million metric tons of cargo per year (the equivalent of 400,000 truckloads) at its seven specialized terminals that reflect the diversity of the economy of southwest France:
  • Le Verdon: Containers, cruise ship stopovers
  • Pauillac: Fuel storage, Airbus A380 logistics
  • Blaye: Cereals and chemicals
  • Ambès: Petrochemicals, fuel storage
  • Grattequina (under development): heavy-lift cargo, aggregates
  • Bassens (bulk goods): cereals, containers, timber, oils, aggregates, coal, recycling traffic, etc.
  • Bordeaux-Port de la Lune (passenger traffic): port of call for cruise ships
The Atlantic Port of Bordeaux is the source of over 4,900 direct jobs in a total of 200 entities

CONTACTS VEOLIA
Laurent Obadia
Sandrine Guendoul
Stéphane Galfré : + 33 1 71 75 19  27
stephane.galfre@veolia.com 

ATLANTIC PORT OF BORDEAUX
Anne Thomas / Communication Office
Tel. +33 (0)5 56 90 59 84 / Mob. +33 (0)6 64 49 92 60
a-thomas@bordeaux-port.fr 



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