Circular Maintenance

Circular maintenance extends asset life and recovers value through repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and reuse rather than replacement (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2022). This may include, among others, refurbishing cranes, vehicles, and mechanical systems; component replacement instead of full asset disposal; recoating steel structures to prevent corrosion; reuse of spare parts across assets; remanufacturing engines or equipment; and recycling materials at end of component life.

For DMC ports, circular maintenance can reduce demand for new raw materials, lower embodied carbon from manufacturing, minimize waste generation, reduce lifecycle costs, and support circular economy principles (Notteboom, Pallis and Rodrigue, 2026). The approach complements preventive, predictive, and risk based maintenance by extending the useful life of assets through value recovery.

Circular maintenance applies circular economy principles to port asset management, prioritizing value retention in existing assets over replacement with new assets.

The approach aligns with ISO 59004:2024 Circular Economy: Vocabulary, Principles and Guidance for Implementation, which provides international terminology and guidance for circular economy implementation (ISO, 2024b). Circular economy principles emphasize, among others, eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials at their highest value, and regenerating nature (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2022).

In port contexts, circular maintenance practices include, among others, refurbishment of cranes, rubber tyred gantry cranes, tugs, and pilot boats rather than replacement; recoating steel structures (including quay cranes, piles, and seawalls) to arrest corrosion and extend life; component level repair and replacement for mechanical and electrical systems; reuse of spare parts from retired equipment on similar operating assets; remanufacturing of engines, gearboxes, and hydraulic systems to original manufacturer specifications; and recycling of materials at end of asset life to recover embodied value.

Research published on Smart, Sustainable, and Circular Port Maintenance has examined frameworks for integrating circular economy principles into port maintenance, identifying opportunities across equipment fleets, infrastructure, and operational materials (Sepehri et al., 2024). The chapter Ports and the Circular Economy (Notteboom, Pallis and Rodrigue, 2026) examines the broader role of ports in enabling circular economy transitions, including through circular maintenance of port assets.

International ports have begun to implement circular maintenance programs.

• Under its Circular port program, the Port of Rotterdam Authority collaborates with various partners on the development of new, circular value chains (Port of Rotterdam Authority, 2021).
• The Port of Antwerp-Bruges states that the transition to a circular economy is part of its ambition to be a climate-neutral port by 2050 (Port of Antwerp-Bruges, n.d.).

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's work on the circular economy in the built environment, which includes infrastructure, provides broader frameworks applicable to port contexts (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2022).

For DMC ports, circular maintenance may offer particular value given rising material costs, limited waste management capacity in some jurisdictions, and the environmental impacts of premature asset disposal. Practical entry points include, among others, crane recoating programs that extend steel structure life, engine remanufacturing for terminal tractors and pilot boats, and spare parts reuse from retired equipment.