Is Alang Breaking Ships Or Breaking Lives?

By any standards, the demolition of ships is a dirty and dangerous occupation. However, the feasibility of ship-breaking is largely determined by the price of scrap metal. The recent introduction of environmental and safety laws in China - once the major breaking nation - has made this industry unprofitable in that country. The race to the bottom is to find countries where occupational health and safety standards are not enforced.

Currently, this hazardous process is carried out in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Here the high tides are especially conducive to heaving the ships up onto the beach.

Most of the ship breaking takes place at Alang in Gujarat. According to Wikipedia, more than 50% of the ship salvaging in the world is done at Alang. The hazards include radiation, air pollution and substances like asbestos, lead, mercury, etc make workers prone to various ailments. Moreover, the workers are unaware of the danger which mainly results in respiratory diseases. The ILO reports that approximately 40,000 labourers benefit from such activities. These labourers usually work barefoot and without any precaution against the imminent hazards.

Asbestos has been banned in almost 40 countries, which includes Australia, Uruguay, European Union, Honduras and others. But according to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), a subordinate office of the Union Ministry of Mines, asbestos is safe for Indian workers and citizens.

Also, accidents which happen do not get reported nor recorded and labourers who get diseases are made to leave their jobs. Another impediment faced by these labourers is that the nearest hospital is almost fifty kilometers away.

Ship breaking is a job which is carried out owing to lack of alternative employment opportunities. Greenpeace and other activists have expressed their concerns repeatedly. Recently, the Gujarat Maritime Board made a notification, emphasizing the importance of using safe and modern technology; and also stated that workers who have received special training in the respective field will be taken in for work. This is a welcome notification, provided these precautions are carried out efficiently.

Asia (Japan, South Korea, China) accounted for between two thirds and three quarters of all ships built in 1998, followed by Europe with twenty to thirty percent. Brazil and the United States accounted for a few percentage points each. The irony is that though India does not demand as many ships as many other countries do, Indians are forced to break ships.

In early 2006, French aircraft carrier Clemenceau was headed for Alang. It contained 27,000 tonnes of steel scrap and around 40 to 50 tonnes of hazardous asbestos. The Supreme Court did not grant it entry owing to the fact that it contained hazardous materials. It is of utmost importance that the government and social organisations get involved as this ship breaking can prove to be ‘vicious’ in nature.

This ship breaking cannot be done away with, as many people depend on it for their livelihood. What ought to be done, is improvement of the working conditions. If Alang can be developed into a formal industrial unit, with the necessary facilities like a hospital clinic, proper precautions against such toxic materials, it would keep up the current employment and increase employment opportunities in the future.