Legendary cruise ship Astoria arrives at Galloo Ghent for recycling

The Astoria dates back to 1948 and sailed under the Portuguese flag in its final years. Due to years of inactivity, a lack of maintenance and the bankruptcy of its owner, the ship will be finally dismantled and scrapped at a European-approved recycling yard. Galloo has a long-standing reputation for dismantling, depolluting and recycling end-of-life ships at its site in the port of Ghent.

The Astoria is 160 metres long and will yield more than 12,000 tonnes of material, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood, glass and plastics. Galloo will recycle more than 97% of this into renewable raw materials. The dismantling will take around 12 months. First, all decks above the waterline will be dismantled, then the ship will be pulled ashore on a specially designed slipway. The entire process requires specialist expertise, not only in the depollution of hazardous substances, but also in ensuring the stability of the wreck throughout the entire processing time.