Thesis
Circular economy principles for the maritime industry : increased value extraction from end-of-life marine assets
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2025
- Thesis identifier
- T17202
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 202160578
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- The maritime industry, responsible for over 80% of global trade, lags behind other transportation sectors in adopting circular economy (CE) principles, which are essential for enhancing sustainability and reducing environmental impact. This thesis addresses this gap by developing a comprehensive circularity framework tailored specifically to the maritime industry, focusing on four key areas. First, it identifies the barriers to implementing CE practices in the maritime sector through an extensive literature review and stakeholder engagement. By consolidating insights from surveys, interviews, and workshops, the study uncovers challenges such as regulatory gaps, limited digital infrastructure, and a lack of awareness among stakeholders. Moreover, it highlights the potential benefits of circular applications such as remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling, drawing comparisons to more advanced CE practices in the aviation and automotive industries. These insights underscore the urgency for the maritime industry to embrace circularity to minimise waste and unlock new revenue streams. Second, the thesis presents strategy and technology solutions suited to the unique operational environment of the maritime industry. The solutions were developed based on identified barriers and validated through case studies and best practices from major OEMs. A case study on high-speed marine engine remanufacturing is provided to demonstrate the practical benefits of circular practices. The study shows that remanufactured engines can deliver equivalent performance to new engines at nearly 50% of the cost, offering significant financial savings while promoting sustainability. This real-world example illustrates the potential for circular practices to reduce costs and environmental impacts across the maritime sector. Third, the research introduces a first-of-its-kind digital database designed to bridge the valuable equipment tracking and supply chain management gap. The developed database supports a maritime-specific asset tracking system, facilitating fast and transparent information flow between the stakeholders and providing foundations for asset tracking infrastructure and a robust reverse supply chain. Through its practical xviii application in a case study, the research demonstrated that this system could increase the recovery value of end-of-life vessels by over 80%. The database also facilitates a maritime asset tracking (MAT) system, enabling enhanced transparency and coordination in CE practices. This offers a critical tool for addressing the inefficiencies of reverse supply chains and supporting the industry's transition toward circularity and sustainability. Finally, the thesis develops 59 tailored circularity metrics specifically designed for the maritime industry. These metrics, refined from hundreds of existing metrics from the literature, provide a comprehensive framework for maritime stakeholders to assess, monitor, and improve their circularity performance. Validated through stakeholder workshops and tested in three shipyards, the metrics offer practical guidance on enhancing circularity efforts. The research findings provide a roadmap for integrating CE principles into the maritime sector, enabling stakeholders to track progress, share best practices, and drive the transition towards a more sustainable and resourceefficient industry. This thesis, therefore, represents the first comprehensive maritime circularity framework. By addressing gaps in knowledge, proposing tailored solutions, and validating findings through empirical evidence, it offers actionable strategies to help the industry meet its sustainability goals and thrive in a circular economy.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Kurt, R. E.
- Gunbeyaz, Sefer Anil
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Embargo Note
Beziehungen
Objekte
| Miniaturansicht | Titel | Hochladedatum | Sichtbarkeit | Aktionen |
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File | 2025-06-13 | Privat |