Workers participate in the dismantling of the former oil tanker “Meuse”, in a dry dock at the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, on April 9, 2024 in Bassens, in Gironde (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
After having scoured the seas, eight ex-French warships will end their lives near Bordeaux, where the deconstruction of these steel giants has begun, a “pinch in the heart” for the Navy but the prospect of recycling 30,000 tonnes of materials.
In Bassens, on the banks of the Garonne, the former tanker Meuse took place at the beginning of March in the form of refit of the Grand Maritime Port of Bordeaux, a dry dock 240 meters long.
It is the first of eight hulls to be cut as part of this spectacular 40-month project. A contract worth “several million euros” concluded by the French Navy with a group of companies, the largest contract of this type in France for a decade.
Tiny in front of the immense 150 meter long hull, several masked workers were busy Tuesday afternoon, blowtorches in hand, to remove the equipment from the rear deck, level the castle in the center and, at the bow, cut out the bow in showers of sparks.
Workers cut the hull of the former oil tanker “Meuse”, in a dry dock at the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, on April 9, 2024 in Bassens, in Gironde (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
It’s a “little emotional sequence”, Captain Grégory Lerenard, deputy director of the fleet support service of the French Navy, in Brest, admitted to AFP.
“There is always a little pang in the heart when we see the ships on which we have sailed retire. It is part of the life cycle of the ships, we know that afterwards they will be recycled and used for something else” , he observes.
– Recover 98% of materials –
From 1980 to 2015, the Meuse supported the aircraft carriers Foch, Clemenceau and Charles-de-Gaulle in operation.
Workers cut the hull of the former oil tanker “Meuse”, in a dry dock at the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, on April 9, 2024 in Bassens, in Gironde (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
The tonnage of this tanker, formerly equipped with an on-board hospital, staff rooms and ample holds, could reach 18,000 tonnes once loaded with fuel.
Next to it, at the quayside, is the old Suffren, recognizable by the large radome (a sort of ball housing the radar) at its top. This ex-frigate served from 1967 to 2001, before being used as a breakwater near Toulon then towed to Bordeaux.
At the time of their demobilization, these old ships had already been stripped of their engines, their guns and numerous equipment.
But there are between four and eight months of work remaining for each ship, in order to clean up the hulls and then recycle 98% of the materials.
“There is asbestos, PCBs, FCR (refractory ceramic fibers, editor’s note), lead… We must take this into account,” underlines Nathalie Le Rest, responsible for deconstruction operations within the support service. of the fleet.
Workers cut the hull of the former oil tanker “Meuse”, in a dry dock at the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, on April 9, 2024 in Bassens, in Gironde (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
“It’s an industrial process that we control from start to finish,” replies Nicolas Masson, director of Cardem, a subsidiary of Eurovia (Vinci group) responsible for dismantling.
Snadec Environnement (depollution) and Sirmet (recycling) complete the group, which is also responsible for reselling recycled metals to steelworks wishing to reduce their carbon footprint.
– From “future cars or pots” –
“At the end of the loop, we have boats that will be used to make construction metals. Maybe you will find pieces of it in your future cars or pots,” smiles Nicolas Masson.
The decommissioned frigate Suffren moored at the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, on November 27, 2023 in Bassens, in Gironde (AFP/Archives/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
Or even in supermarket trolleys, because “all steel can be recycled infinitely”, adds Captain Lerenard, who specifies that any rust on the hulls is only superficial and easy to strip.
Before 2005, military boats were oceanized, that is to say, sunk offshore, sometimes after having served as exercise targets. Since then, this practice has been banned and the ships are dismantled in France or abroad after calls for tenders have been launched.
In recent years, other prestigious combat ships, such as the former cruiser Colbert or the legendary training ship Jeanne d’Arc, have ended their lives near Bordeaux, one of the 18 authorized European sites.
And other projects are in sight for the French Navy. “Over the coming decade we can count around a hundred large and medium tonnage hulls to be deconstructed, and a little more than 300 small ships and nautical devices,” explains Nathalie Le Rest.
© 2024 AFP
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