The world's largest ship graveyard is a hub of industrial paradox
In short: In Gujarat, India, massive ocean liners and super-tankers are beached on mud flats to be dismantled by hand. This site processes over a third of the world's retired freight ships, turning industrial giants into scrap metal while navigating a complex landscape of international environmental scrutiny and labor risks.
Founded in 1983 by N. Sundaresan, the Alang Ship Breaking Yard has grown into a global titan of maritime recycling. Located on the Gulf of Khambhat, the facility now spans 14 kilometres of coastline and consists of 183 individual yards. It possesses a total capacity of 4.5 million light displacement tonnage (LDT). The yard's scale is so significant that it has effectively reshaped the global market; for instance, it contributed to the decline of the Gadani yard in Pakistan, which now produces less than one-fifth of the scrap it yielded in the 1980s.
The process is visceral: large vessels like car ferries and container ships are beached during high tide. As the water recedes, manual laborers move onto the beach to salvage materials and reduce the hulls to scrap. This labor-intensive model has faced intense scrutiny regarding worker safety. Between January 2009 and October 2012, a local workers union reported at least 54 work-related deaths at the site, drawing attention from the IndustriALL Global Union and the European Union.
The yard is also a site of significant geopolitical and environmental tension. While it handles iconic vessels—such as the 2009 scrapping of the Seawise Giant, the longest ship ever built—it has faced legal battles over toxic waste. In 2005, the French aircraft carrier Clemenceau was diverted from Alang to Britain following protests over mismanagement of hazardous materials. To address these concerns, a 2010 Memorandum of Understanding between India and Japan initiated a project to upgrade the yard to International Maritime Organization standards, supported by a $76 million soft loan from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency starting in 2017.
Environmental impacts remain a persistent challenge, specifically the pollution of water and beaches with heavy metals. To mitigate the lack of infrastructure, a multi-speciality hospital was inaugurated in March 2019 to provide immediate medical services to the local workforce, a significant step given that the nearest full-service hospital was previously 50 kilometres away.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Alang Ship Breaking Yard
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