On 28 April one of the oldest gas tankers in the world arrived at the shipbreaking yard of Van Heyghen Recycling in Ghent, Belgium. The 21,301dwt French-flagged Tellier, built in 1974 by Chantiers Navale de la Ciotat for Messigaz Gazocean SA of Marseille, spent most of her career sailing between France and Algeria.
Gazocean SA chose Van Heyghen Recycling after a public tender. It is estimated that the gas tanker will take a year to recycle, but that 95 per cent of the material will be recycled. The firm are part of Galloo Recycling, which demolishes many vessels each year and has demolished two British frigates in recent times. An unusual aspect of this recycling is that Tellier was open to the general public to look round on 28 May, with all proceeds going to a ‘Fight against cancer’ charity.
