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Shipbreaking

edwardburtynsky.com

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Re: Shipbreaking

#91

Post by SoftTalker »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #32
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #2

These are probably taken at the Alang (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh) Ship Breaking Yards, where they run the ships aground at high tide. Both visible on Google Maps satelite view: https://www.google.com/maps/place/21%C2%B023'21.9%22N+72%C2%... https://www.google.com/maps/place/22%C2%B027'24.5%22N+91%C2%...

I'm not in a position to look right now, but I'm pretty sure there's video of this happening out on YouTube. It's pretty fearsome seeing these big vessels coming in under power and crashing into the shore. Tons of inertia.

There are a number of shipbreaking videos and documentaries on YouTube.

Re: Shipbreaking

#92

Post by SoftTalker »

adityapatadia wrote: post #50
boppo1 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- I've heard these breaking yards are very toxic. Do you have any memory of this? - olives in brine? Like leftover food supplies and somehow that was a staple? - What was the visit like? Stand on a platform and watch? Guided tour? Freedom to run amok & don't get in the way/yourself killed? - What were the local opinions on the industry?

- There are all sorts of toxins on the ships. Crude oil which drives the ship is one component but the government asks to get rid of it first as long as the ship arrives. Next big one is asbestos which is abundant and not removed by the government. It lies around. I am sure there would be more of them - Yeah olives in brine in a sealed food tin. We did not eat a lot of fish back then but there were food tins of all s…

> People did not take the businesses as badly as we treat them online. They feel it's a normal industry like anything else and gives employment so they are mostly fine with it.

Same as many jobs in the last century in the west: coal mining, steel mills and other large industrial operations, much heavy construction. Not that it was OK or should be acceptable but it does seem to be the way these things go.

Re: Shipbreaking

#93

Post by throw10920 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #84
boringg wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those industries don't pay well to anyone involved but are a global benefit. Such a strange world we live in.

Why is that strange? At no time in history have jobs paid according to their benefit.

It's not actually strange - GP is just using that word to emotionally manipulate readers.

Re: Shipbreaking

#94

Post by SoftTalker »

adityapatadia wrote: post #47
jl6 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mean there was food still on board when the ships arrived?

There is a ton of food on board when ships arrive. Remember, the ships have crews and they are working when they arrive. In fact you could find all sorts of food items and kitchen equipments that you would find in a professional kitchen (a lot of restaurants in our area just got the kitchen equipment for cheap).

I've watched a few shipbreaking documentaries, they show that near the breaking operations there are large flea markets or bazaars where you can buy pretty much anything of any value that has been salvaged from the ships.

Re: Shipbreaking

#95

Post by gosub100 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #41
throw383y8 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, West should stop dumping their garbage to the rest of the world. It is easy to have strict environmental regulations, if they are not enforced, and negative externalities are exported.

> Well, West should stop dumping their garbage to the rest of the world. Actually the export of ships to be wrecked in Asia already is banned under EU law and international treaties - and sometimes, even company owners can and do land in jail for violating them, as it happened to Georg Eide [1]. The difficulty lies in the fact that many ships aren't registered in the EU countries, but in small countries like Antigua…

To make matters worse, when these ships come under attack or get hijacked, suddenly they want the full backing of Western military forces. Strange they don't call on Panema or Antigua's military forces, since that's where they are registered.

Re: Shipbreaking

#96

Post by causal »

jabl wrote: post #87

A few comments here mentioned that old ships being broken up have a lot of asbestos. I would have assumed this would have been an issue on very old ships, but some cursory web searching suggests that it's still prevalent even in relatively new ships. IMO rules ( https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Safety/Pages/Asbestos.aspx ) say roughly that: - Ships built before 2002 may contain asbestos, but it should be "managed prope…

Maritime regulation is hard when it operates in the space between states.

Asbestos in particular is such a temptation in manufacturing because it's just so useful and cheap. An argument can probably be made that handled properly it saves more lives than it harms just because it's such a good fire resistant insulator.

Re: Shipbreaking

#97

Post by gosub100 »

mhuffman wrote: post #4
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #2

These are probably taken at the Alang (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh) Ship Breaking Yards, where they run the ships aground at high tide. Both visible on Google Maps satelite view: https://www.google.com/maps/place/21%C2%B023'21.9%22N+72%C2%... https://www.google.com/maps/place/22%C2%B027'24.5%22N+91%C2%...

>where they run the ships aground at high tide. Probably a dumb question but what do they do on the next high tide? Wouldn't it interfere with their work?

I've seen the video. They drop an anchor and attach it to shore with a chain.

Re: Shipbreaking

#98

Post by gosub100 »

resolutebat wrote: post #11
fbdab103 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is wild. Could not believe how many people were wearing sandals or completely barefoot.

Bare feet are the least of your problems when somebody drops a couple of tons of rusty steel on your head.

The threat of metal dropping on top of one employee doesn't remove the need for foot protection for the rest.

Re: Shipbreaking

#99

Post by mschuster91 »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #86
jopsen wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could require that ships they dock in EU harbours are owned by countries that are party to some international anti-ship breaking agreement. But it's a lot of paperwork :)

But that might put the EU at an economic disadvantage; it's hubris to believe the rest of the world will bend backwards to meet EU's rules. I mean they do, see cookie banners/GDPR, Apple, etc, but still. I'm of the unsubstantiated opinion that all the laws make the EU a less desireable market. But that's a policy based on morals instead of economics / relentless capitalism.

> But that might put the EU at an economic disadvantage; it's hubris to believe the rest of the world will bend backwards to meet EU's rules.

Actually, it will. RoHS and the push for standardizing phone connectors ended up influencing the whole world and making it a better place for everyone.

The EU is a sizable market, and unlike the US with its constant elections and government shutdowns, it's politically relatively stable. No one, as said not even Apple, can ignore the demands of the European Union.

Re: Shipbreaking

#100

Post by byteknight »

almostgotcaught wrote: post #83
boringg wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those industries don't pay well to anyone involved but are a global benefit. Such a strange world we live in.

Is there a word for this specific kind of ambivalence where you label a pitiable, miserable set of circumstances "strange"? As if it's on the same level as the strong nuclear force? Maybe "motivated ambivalence". There's nothing strange about it just as there's nothing strange about cobalt mining conditions in Democratic Republic of Congo: exploitative trade agreements, political corruption, and apathy.

Just because you don't think its strange doesn't mean others don't. Strange is subjective. If he feels its odd we willfully ignore it, then its strange.
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