Vessel / Ship Breaking Demolition SWMS

Vessel and ship breaking demolition is among the most hazardous construction activities undertaken in Australian maritime industry, combining structural dismantling with legacy contamination, confined space entry, and hot work in oxygen-variable atmospheres. Work typically occurs on slipways, in graving docks, or alongside wharves and involves systematic cutting of hull plate, removal of bulkheads, drainage of bunker fuel and bilge residues, and identification and stripping of asbestos lagging, PCB-contaminated cabling, and lead-based coatings. Under WHS Regulation 2025 section 291, this work simultaneously triggers multiple High Risk Construction Work categories, making a documented Safe Work Method Statement mandatory before any task commences. The complexity of overlapping hazards — hot cutting adjacent to residual hydrocarbons inside a confined hold containing friable asbestos — demands a SWMS that integrates marine, demolition, and hazardous materials controls. PCBUs must prepare, consult on, and retain this SWMS for the duration of the project plus statutory record-keeping periods, with immediate review triggered by any incident or change in scope.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Remove all bunker fuel, lube oil, bilge water, and cargo residues to shore tanks via certified marine waste contractor before any cutting work commences on hull or internals.
2. 2Elimination — Strip and dispose of all identified asbestos lagging and PCB equipment under licensed Class A removal contract before structural demolition phase begins.
3. 3Substitution — Replace oxy-fuel cutting with hydraulic shears, cold-cutting saws, or abrasive water-jet on plate adjacent to residual hydrocarbons or sealed voids where practicable.
4. 4Substitution — Use chemical stripping of lead coatings in lieu of mechanical grinding to eliminate respirable metal fume generation at the work face.
5. 5Engineering — Install forced mechanical ventilation achieving minimum 20 air changes per hour in confined holds with continuous four-gas atmospheric monitoring per AS 2865.
6. 6Engineering — Erect engineered exclusion zones, hull-section rigging plans certified by competent person, and hot work fire blankets with dedicated standby fire watch and charged hoses.
7. 7Administrative — Issue daily confined space and hot work permits with gas-free certificates from a Marine Chemist or competent gas tester before each entry or ignition source activation.
8. 8Administrative — Conduct pre-start briefings using this SWMS, asbestos register sign-on, emergency rescue drills, and shift-end decontamination logs retained for statutory periods.
9. 9PPE — Supplied-air respirators or PAPR with P3 cartridges for asbestos and lead work zones, FR coveralls rated to AS/NZS 4824, and full body harness with marine retrieval lanyard.
10. 10PPE — Chemical-resistant gloves, splash-rated eye protection, marine-grade safety footwear, and personal four-gas monitors worn continuously inside any enclosed vessel compartment.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

At a coastal dry-dock dismantling project involving a decommissioned 90-metre coastal trader, the demolition supervisor convenes a pre-start brief at the dock head before the day shift commences cutting work on the No. 2 cargo hold bulkhead. Using this SWMS as the briefing document, the supervisor walks the eight-person crew through the asbestos register confirming amosite lagging was stripped from the adjacent engine room the previous week, then references the hazard matrix to identify residual bilge hydrocarbon vapour as the controlling risk for today's hot work. The crew reviews the engineering controls — confirming the portable extraction fan is delivering measured airflow at the hold access, the standby gas tester has issued a fresh gas-free certificate, and the fire watch has charged hoses run out. Each worker signs onto the SWMS register acknowledging respirator fit-test currency and harness inspection. Two hours into cutting, the personal four-gas monitor worn by the lead burner alarms at 8% LEL near a previously unmapped fuel return line. Following the SWMS escalation procedure, the team stops work, evacuates the hold, and the supervisor amends the permit and SWMS dynamic risk section before re-entry, documenting the change and re-briefing the crew before work resumes.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace CoP

Frequently asked questions