shipbreaking yard Chittagong - Bangladesh !!!

teeratiti

Is there anybody who visit the shipbreaking yard near chittagong - Bangladesh in the last months ??
Is it for a foreigner really difficult to get a permission for visit the shipbreaking yard or not ?? How much it cost ??
Please, who can give me some information about visiting this shipbreaking yard ?? I don't want to miss it on my trip through Bangladesh!! All information about this is more than welcome. Thanks.

machadinha

I'm not sure about Chittagong but the yards are famous for having underpaid and unprotected workers working with asbestos and stuff + generally creating an environmental disaster, they're also a cheap way for companies to get rid of their unwanted ships. What exactly makes you think this would be an exciting tourist destination, unless you wanted to do a documentary maybe? See also http://www.greenpeace.org/internatio...angladesh+ship for instance.

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ploink

For some general information on ship breaking:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4482847.stm
See the "See also" menu on the right.

European countries (among others) are dumping their garbage here and there, everywhere...

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Nick-H

Is this the strangest request on IM ever? It must come close!

Maybe teeratiti is looking for a pocketful of cheap steal?

I recall, years (possible decades) ago seeing this on TV and it did make an "impressive" sight, massive ships on the beach being dismantled. But I don't think I'd like to be anywhere near it: certainly not downwind!

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LaContessa

Strange request. I remember watching a documentary on this subject about 14-15 years ago, it was about a ship breaking yard in Orissa. Apart from the environmental issues involved which were absolutely horrendous, even more horrendous were the humanitarian issues - I couldn't believe the way these "workers" were treated, the dreadful unsafe conditions they worked in, the hours worked, the exploitation, the conditions they lived in - and they paid highly to live in absolute squalor like I've not witnessed before.... Disease was rife. Injuries common - one gentleman was working with half his leg missing, having had an accident, and then it had to be "amputated" by colleagues due to lack of medical assistance.

It was utterly heartbreaking. I sat and cried for these poor people.

And I felt angry that the rest of the world still thinks it's ok to dump their unwanted ships on India to break and take responsibility for the waste. Because it's cheap.

Horrific. Not somewhere I'd willingly wish to visit, but I'm glad I'm aware that such places exist.

cyberhippie

MMmm what's so wierd about the sight of an entire ship being taken apart by hand??
All the working conditions and polution to the planet aside it must be a pretty awesome thing to see!!
I don't think a solitary visit by an IM member is going to cause any great waves one way or the other, as such I think it's reasonable request!

To each their own!!

LaContessa I share your grief that in today's modern world, people are forced to live like this but in the documentary I saw, it was worth noting that there was a waiting list for these jobs!
Poverty is a great decision maker, so many people in Asia are still forced to do this or starve, the option chosen is nearly always the work!!
Sad but true!

LaContessa

Hello CH.

You are right, poverty drives people to extreme measures. I think what affected me was having just returned from 4 months in India, I was quite aware of the poverty, poorness, and conditions that many face in their lives just to eat one meal per day. However, this seemed to me much, much worse, than anything i'd seen before. It was the scale of it the operation, the sheer numbers of people working in the these yards, where they had originated from, the appalingly low wages they were paid, and then there was all the corruption on top of it, people wanting their cut each week for getting someone a job... The workers were paying out the majority of their "salary" just for the privelidge of working there, they ended up with little more than a handful of rupees to send back to their families each month, which left them even less, sometimes nothing to live on, so many were scavenging rubbish to find things to eat.

Then there were the indentured labourers, such as the children of workers who had gotten themselves into debt to pay for something necessary, like medicine following an accident or illness.

The level of illness due to the poisons, oils, asbestos and a host of other nasty things they had to handle was commonplace, nearly everyone had bad skin ailments and breathing problems. And injuries were just as frequent. There's were people who were pretty much blind due to welding without masks and bits of metal going int their eyes. Naturally, no one wore any protective clothing.

I've seen some pretty unpleasant things over the years, but that remains fixed in my memory as being possibly one of the worst.

LaContessa

And what made it worse was the stark juxtaposition between the workers and the superby rich persons who owned/managed these yards. These people just seemed to be lacking in any compassion at all..

cyberhippie

Yeah the documentary I saw was pretty disturbing for all the reasons you quote above!!
Typical of the west of course Bangaldesh/India/ Turkey are on another planet so it doesn't really matter if we pollute their local enviroment! As long as it's cheap to break our ships!
There really is no excuse for this, we have breaking yards world wide. But I'm sure the people who send their ships would baffle me with science as to why it is the most economical way for them to get rid of their ships!!
I thinks the overriding factor is greed!
Look out for more of this as we in the west now joined by India/China/Asia produce ever more junk and toxic waste where will we put it all??
Well wherever we can of course so long as it isn't in our backyard

Merchant

The Alang yards in India got lots of press in the last few years. Two journalists from the Baltimore Sun newspaper won a Pulitzer prize for a series of articles and photos. Plenty of other photographers and videographers descended on the place, and the shipbreaking companies clamped down, not allowing anyone in--bad for business.

I don't know what the situation is in Chittagong, but they'll probably be highly suspicious. Nothing wrong in making some inquiries in the area. If it's like India, it's not one big facility but a collection of independent breaking companies operating along the bay. If one company says no, try another.

machadinha

Maybe my initial reaction came over as a little harsh, if so I apologize. I mostly meant to point to some issues that the post brought to mind, plus I was genuinely curious why the OP would be bent to visit the yards. The question could be perfectly legit, maybe s/he's just a ship nut or something, I know I like to visit harbors.

mahmud

As far as I know, to visit Ship breaiking yard, no need to pay. Come Dhaka, go Chittagong (Sitakunda-about 30 miles from Chittagong) & go there by a taxy.

Other hand, you are most welcome to Bangladesh. Whenever you are in Dhaka, please make me a phone call to have cup of coffee. I will also help you to go to Chittagong. My H.P number is : 017-4044498

TimMakins

Hi - I was there just a few days ago. It was a great trip, and very interesting. There are lots of yards, all along the coast. To get to them, take the local bus from Chittagong (15 taka) up the coast road until you see some ships peeping out above the trees. Alternatively, ask the locals for 'ship-cutting', as they call it. You will also see lots of shops and stalls in that area of the main road selling bits and the contents of ships too - well worth looking at. From the main road, take any track that looks oily and as if it sees heavy traffic down to the beach. All the yards are walled and gated. When you get to the gate of any, you will be conducted to the manager who may/may not give permission for you to look around. Most that I went to were happy for me to look, but ALL OF THEM refused ABSOLUTELY to allow ANY photos whatsoever. This is due to the likes of Michael Palin and other more investigative reporters who write articles about the pollution, deaths, etc. etc. This industry employs locally about 5M people - naturally they don't want it disrupted! You can take a photo or 2 from outside the yards, but don't let anyone see you, and, if you respect the local people's hospitality to you, don't take photos showing anything 'negative'.

Tim Makins

Some photos are on my diary site:

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cyberhippie

It sounds facinating Tim was that a typo or did you say 5 million people??
The shops sound like great places to poke around!! I'm guessing this quite a lucrative side business shipping memorabilia is quite sought after I believe!
So the locals are pretty sensitive, well I suppose our dissatisfaction is their livelihood who are we to interfere!!
I suppose the "ship cutting" community in Gujarat is pretty similar! I was thinking about this state on my next trip!

artwallah

I went past all those yards in 2001 and have always wanted to go back and do a series of paintings in them. There is a Canadian photographer who did some awesome photos; check out http://www.edwardburtynsky.com and you'll see why one would want to go there.