On 9 January 2020, the Russian Foxtrot-class submarine was successfully placed on the quay at Jansen Recycling Group’s dismantling yard in Vlaardingen, marking the start of its dismantling process. The deteriorated submarine had been moored in the IJ in Amsterdam since 2002 and was removed by order of the authorities due to safety and environmental concerns.

The 90-metre-long Foxtrot B-80 submarine was built in 1956 in Latvia and was once part of the Soviet Union’s naval fleet. In 1991, the vessel was brought to the Netherlands by private entrepreneurs. Today, however, its ownership remains unclear. For the Municipality of Amsterdam, the rusting submarine has long been an eyesore.

To resolve the situation, the Municipality of Amsterdam launched a European tender process. The contract was awarded to Struijk Sloop- en Grondwerken, who partnered with Jansen Recycling Group and several other specialised contractors to carry out the dismantling.

In its current state, the submarine weighs approximately 1,500 tonnes. Upon arrival at our yard, asbestos is carefully removed and the scrap material is prepared for transport to the Purified Metal Company (PMC) in Delfzijl — a specialised iron smelter. This state-of-the-art facility, operational from mid-2020, converts contaminated steel scrap into high-quality secondary raw materials for the steel industry.

Jansen Recycling Group’s dismantling yard in Vlaardingen has handled numerous large-scale demolition projects in recent years. These include the car carrier Baltic Ace (2015), the steel platform of the Scheveningen Pier (2016), and the old Botlek Bridge (2018).