By Kalpana Palkhiwala
Even as shipping companies world-wide are facing rough weather on account of recessionary trends, India’s ship-breaking business is all set to flourish.

Ship-breaking is a process of dismantling a vessel’s structure for scrapping and disposal whether conducted at a breach, pier, dry dock or dismantling slip. It includes a wide range of activities, from removing all gears and equipments to cutting down and recycling the ships’ infrastructure.

Ship-breaking is a challenging process, due to structural complexity of the ships and many environmental, safety and health issues involved. While ship scrapping in dry docks of industrialized countries is regulated, ship-breaking on beaches, alongside piers is less subject to control and inspection.

Breaking old or redundant ships rather than scuttling or using them as artificial riffs, enables Steel and other parts of the ships to be recycled at a much lower cost than importing and processing iron ore. Less energy is also needed. It also provides for timely removing of outdated tonnage from international waters. Hundreds of vessels are scrapped each year, a trend which will continue with the phasing out of single hull vessels.

Problems of industry
Ship-breaking is one of the most hazardous occupations. This over the last decade, has been concentrated in a few developing Asian countries- India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Turkey on account of low wages and a lower level of compliance with international standards on safety, health and poor working and environmental conditions.

Although many of the hazardous material used to build a ship-asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, toxic paint such as tri-butylitin and heavy metals are mostly restricted or banned today. But a ship built 20-30 years ago still contains these materials. It also carries hazardous and flammable chemicals used for paints, repairs and maintenance etc. Electrical cables and other control systems contain hazardous material. The paint coat can contaminate soil and water when torched or scrapped. This is hazardous for human beings and the environment. The protection and safety and health of workers handling the hazardous waste is of crucial importance.

The issue of ship recycling is being deliberated for the past several years at International fora namely International Labour Organisation, Maritime Organisation & the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans Boundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

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