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Shipbreaking 26Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ShipbreakingThe new IMO convention on Ship Recycling and the EU Proposal for Regulation of Ship Recycling are being viewed with concern by ship recyclers in Alang, India. If these come into force it is possi-ble this world?s biggest grave yard for ships will have to close down. Alang is considered natures? gift to the Indian ship recycling industry. Located in Gujarat, on the West coast of India, the shipyards in Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world. Having come into existence in June 1983, Alang, today encompasses over 180 ship yards stretching across 11 km of the coast line and is presently en-gaged in dismantling over 150 ships si- multaneously. During 2011-12, Alang had achieved a record 415 ships? demoli- tion. Though highly regulated the ship breaking industry has often been at thereceiving end of environmentalists, inter- national organizations and authorities. With the ship recycling convention of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) awaiting implementation and the European Union?s proposal for Regula- tion on Ship Recycling likely to become mandatory in January 2015 the industryis bracing up for another bout of regula- tory dictates which players in the field fear could well spell its doom. The ?beaching? method of recycling in Alang is considered to be not only themost economical as well as the cleanest.What makes ship breaking a productive and attractive venture for India is that 99% of the demolished ship finds reuse according to a study carried out by Prof.(Dr.) Shyam R. Asolekar Center for En- vironmental Science and Engineering In-dian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Among other products the industry gen-erates around 4 million tonnes of steelalone. ?It is not just the major compo-nents like main engine, gear boxes, aux- iliary engines, fire pumps, etc., that fetch a good premium but even nuts and bolts, wires, cables, furniture and fixtures, kitchen utensils, et al,? says Prof. Asolekar. ?In fact just outside the Alang yard one can see over 800 shops spread for miles around doing roaring business mainly from material generated fromthese demolition yards.? India had like some other South Asian countries become a favored destination in the early eighties because of the avail- ability of cheap labor. But it is the high tidal range, firm seabed, gentle seaward slope that eventually gave Alang the edge over others thus making it the first major Indian ship breaking yard to have come Shipbreaking By Joseph Fonseca, Mumbai Industry May Keep Tryst with Doomsday MR#12 (26-33):MR Template 12/3/2012 2:24 PM Page 26