A large number of ship breakers
at the Alang-Sosiya
ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar
district of Gujarat
could be forced out of business if a
Japanese government backed
project to upgrade and modernise
the yard as per international standards
is given the go-ahead by
the state government.
In February this year, a highlevel
delegation consisting of
Japanese ship owners had met
Chief Minister Narendra Modi
and submitted a proposal for
making the Alang-Sosiya ship
breaking yard fully compliant
with the guidelines of the International
Maritime Organisation
adopted 2009 Hong Kong International
Convention for the safe
and environmentally sound
recycling of ships.
As per the Japanese proposal,
ship breakers at the yard would
need to switch over from the
beaching method to the dry dock
method for dismantling of ships.
The project cost for upgradation
and modernisation has been
estimated at $22 million. It
would include construction of a
dry dock, improving existing
infrastructure and creation of
more facilities. The Japanese
government is keen to fund the
project through loans to ship
breakers for periods ranging
from 15 to 20 years.
According to a study conducted
by the Japanese Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry, the
Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard
can be improved significantly if
made safer and more eco-friendly
in accordance with the guidelines
of the Hong Kong International
Convention of IMO.
Japan currently has a 40 per
cent share in the global shipping
industry and is primarily
dependent on China for recycling
of ships.
In the event, the proposal for
upgrading and modernising the
Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard
goes through, there could be a
considerable increase in the
number of dead ships heading for
Indian shores. Ship breakers at
the yard, however, are opposed to
the upgradation and modernisation
project on the ground that it
would place undue burden on
the industry. Besides, they point
out, all the rules and regulations
relating to environment and pollution
that had been laid down by
the Supreme Court are being
strictly followed at the yard
under the eyes of various monitoring
agencies.
"The upgradation and modernisation
project proposed for the
Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard
by the Japanese is not financially
viable, and more importantly, not
required," Nikhil Gupta, Joint
Secretary, Ship Recycling Industries
Association (India), told
Projectmonitor.
"All the rules and regulations
that had been laid down by the
Supreme Court with regard to
ship breaking are being followed
by us. These are in line
with the requirements of IMO.
With regard to the proposal for
construction of a dry dock at the
yard, we don't think that there is
any need for it. Alang is considered
a natural dry dock. The
Japanese consider the dry dock
method to be better than the
beaching method for dismantling
of ships. In our opinion, the
upgradation and modernisation
project would be a complete
waste of money. This money
could be spent for the welfare of
the people working in the industry
instead. If there are projects
that focus on further improving
the safety of our workers and
management of hazardous
materials, we would certainly
welcome them," he added.
Ship breakers claim that the
Japanese proposal to upgrade
the Alang-Sosiya yard to international
standards, if accepted
by the state government, would
have far reaching implications
for the industry. The Gujarat
Maritime Board is currently
engaged in assessing the exact
requirements of the yard.
"At present, the ship breaking
industry in Alang consists of
only small players who buy
ships on bank guarantee. This
could, however, change if the
Japanese project to upgrade and
modernise the ship breaking
yard is implemented. Large
groups would then enter the
industry wiping out small players,"
Gupta said.
In 2011-12, ship breakers at
the Alang-Sosiya yard scrapped
a total of 415 ships compared to
357 ships the previous year.
Untitled Document
Tadadi Port SPV |
The Karnataka government
has set up an
SPV—Tadadi Port Ltd—to
implement the all-weather
greenfield port at Tadadi in
the state at an estimated
cost of  3,800 crore. The
SPV will act as a subsidiary
of the Karnataka State
Industrial & Infrastructure
Development Corporation,
the nodal agency. |