A Place Where Ships Lay to Rest
With all the news focus lately regarding cruise ships, I was beginning to wonder a little more about them and where do they wind up at the end of their long lives. Such a large vessel, with so many metal and other parts that are non-biodegradable, what happens to them? Are they reused or recycled? The Costa Concordia disaster in 2012 created so many environmental issues, which many people did not even notice, due to loss of life and rescue being far more important after the initial accident. The complete salvage and wreck removal of this beautiful Italian ship would take about 12 months and cost $300 million dollars, requiring many standards to be adhered to including fuel removal and other salvage parts to be safe for the environment both marine and land. The materials once in port will be dismantled and sold as scrap.
A ship graveyard is the term that is used for the place where old ships are abandoned to naturally disintegrate. This can also be referred to as a ship cemetery, where a large number of ships, boats or hulls of scrapped vessels are left to decay and rust. Graveyards are distinctly two different types; the ones created specifically for the purpose of a ship’s decomposition and the oceanic parts where ships have been stranded without any chances of getting rescued because of natural occurrences. There is also a location where abandoned ships are put that a defunct from the active line of duty because of some reason or another. The ten largest graveyards of ships around the world are listed as follows: 1) Curtin Artificial Reef in Australia, 2) Gadani in Pakistan, 3) Alang in India, 4) Landevennec in France, 5) Staten Island in United States, 6) Bikini Atoll in the United States, 7) Jervois Beach in the Adelaide Port, 8) Skeleton Coast in Namibia, 9) Bay of Nouadhibou in Mauritania, 10) One of the largest ship graveyards in today’s times is the Aral Sea in the Eurasian Country of Uzbekistan.
One of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters is the drying of the Aral Sea. It was once the world’s fourth largest lake, the sea has shrunk by 90% since the rivers that feed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region. The shrunken sea has ruined the once thriving fishing economy and left fishing trawlers stranded in sandy wastelands. The sea’s evaporation has left layers of extremely salty sands, which winds can carry as far away as Scandinavia and Japan, plaguing local people with health troubles. The land is deserted with camels standing near the hulks of stranded ships. This sea clearly represents one of the worst environmental disasters of the world, providing an extra large cemetery for so many deserted ships.
In Mumbai, India another major environmental issue related to ship graveyards comes into play. Private firms rent space from the Mumbai Port Trust at to use for breaking ships at Darukhana. Each day more than 6000 workers are faced with occupational hazards to dismantle ships, sort scrap, and then package it away. Ship-breaking involves toxic heavy metals, such as asbestos fibres, which can be thrown into the air, this exposes not just workers but people in the surrounding neighborhood as well. The International Maritime Organization has identified risks associated with ship breaking, which include generating of lead particles, fire hazards and dispersal of hazard waste. Besides pollution, the workers safety is also in jeopardy. Between the hazardous waste and poor working conditions, the circumstances remain dim.
Ship graveyards are a reality they affect our environment and leave their mark on our lands and sea. Too bad we can’t just provide them with a safe place to rest after their lives have come to an end.
