CLEAN AND GREEN ALANG

Notorious for environmental pollution and accidental death of workers in the yards till a decade ago, Alang in Gujarat is currently the greenest and safest ship-breaking hub globally. So, what changed?

-  P.B. JAYAKUMAR

The sleepy coastal village of Alang, about 50 kilometres from Bhavnagar in Gujarat, also known as the largest ship-recycling hub in the world, had a bad reputation until a decade ago. Reports highlighted horror stories about its poor infrastructure, environmental pollution from hazardous waste such as asbestos, engine oil tainting sandy shores and the Arabian Sea, accidents and death of unskilled labourers, etc. But Alang now has a new reputation — it is the greenest and safest ship-breaking hub, dismantling 30-35 per cent of ships recycled a year, globally.

The near-four-decade-old Alang of today is the result of concerted efforts — court interventions, government initiatives and above all, committed efforts of ship breakers to upgrade to international standards to win business.

How It Was Earlier

Alang-Sosiya Ship Recycling Yard was developed by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) in 1982, on the shores of a 12-kilometre long stretch. The area was suitable for the “beaching method” of ship breaking (ships hauled to shores during high tide and then scrapped). During high tides, water level rises up to 33 feet (normal high tides in Indian coasts are only up to 14-15 feet), which makes it easier to haul ships to the shore. The first vessel, MV Kota Tenjong, was beached at Alang in February 1983, and by early 90s, over 100 ships were scrapped in a year. By 2000-2005, Alang was regularly scrapping over 300 ships a year. Soon, many scrap merchants became ship recyclers and their reluctance to invest and lack of knowledge regarding international ship-breaking methods and standards became an issue.