Alang Ship Breaking Yard (India)

Alang is a small town in India's Gujarat State (Saurashtra Region, Bhavnagar District) with population around 20,000. Since the early-1990s, Alang is worldwide known for the location of its shipbreaking yard (world's largest). There, retired marine vessels (cargo and passenger) are beached/grounded then dismantled. Some vessels (without their own power) are towed.

Alang is also officially classified as "Port Alang" (lo code INALA) and dubbed "Alang Ship Breaking Port". Here are dismantled and recycled ~50% of the world's salvaged ships, thus it is considered the largest ship graveyard on the planet. The beaches where the vessels are broken up are on Gulf of Khambat, approx 50 km (31 mi) southeast of district's capital city (Bhavnagar). Approx 175 km (110 mi) to the southwest from Alang is Diu Island. Approx 280 km (170 mi) to the south is Mumbai (Bombay) - direct/sea distance.

At Alang's beaches are dismantled all types of vessels - including oil-gas tankers, boxships (container carriers), bulk-cargo ships, Ro-Ro (car ferries), passenger ships (ferries and cruise liners), naval ships. The vessels are beached during high tide. When the tide recedes, hundreds of workers start to break up each ship. Most of the machinery and furniture are salvaged, the rest is for scrap. The work is hard and dangerous, with numerous serious injuries (even deaths) happening on a daily basis.

There are plans to modernize the Alang Shipyard since India and Japan signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for technology and financial help from Japan. The public-private partnership aims to upgrade Alang's shipbreaking and recycling operations according to the latest international safety-, health- and environmental regulations, as well as to make it IMO-compliant.

The Yard's largest vessel so far is the supertanker "MS Seawise Giant" (oil tanker, IMO 7381154, 1979-built, 2010-scrapped as "MS Mont"). This was also the world's longest ship - with LOA length 459 m (1504 ft), draft 25 m (81 ft), GT 260941 tons, DWT 564763 tons.

Cruise ships scrapped at Alang

Next are listed some of the Alang-scrapped cruise vesselsships and converted classic ocean liners. In brackets is the vessel's year of birth and death.

• MS Nieuw Amsterdam / Thomson Spirit (1983-2018)
• MS Starward / Louis Aura (1968-2018)
• Ocean Gala / Thomson Island Escape (1982-2018)
• Carnival Jubilee / P^O Pacific Sun (1986-2017)
• MS Vistafjord / Saga Ruby (1973-2017)
• Nordic Prince / Ocean Star Pacific (1971-2015)
• MS Port Melbourne / Princess Danae / Lisboa (1955-2015)
• Island Venture / Island Princess / MV Discovery (1971-2015)
• Kungsholm / Mona Lisa / Veronica (1966-2015)
• Prinsesse Ragnhild / Bahamas Celebration (1981-2015)
• MS Port Sydney / Princess Daphne (1954-2014)
• Cunard Adventurer / MS Coral (1971-2014)
• Axel Johnson / Costa Marina / Club Harmony (1969-2014)
• Canguro Verde / MS The Calypso (1967-2013)
• SS Santa Rosa / SS The Emerald (1957-2012)
• MS Italia / Ocean Princess (1967-2012)
• Augustus / Philippines / Asian Princess / Philippine (1951-2011)
• Renaissance / Homeric Renaissance / World Renaissance / Awani Dream / Grand Victoria / Blue Monarch / Maestro (1966-2010)
• SS Independence (1951-2010)
• SS Ausonia / Aegean 2 / Winner 5 (1956-2010)
• SS Finlandia / Costa Playa / Golden Princess (1967-2009)
• SS Olympia / Caribe / Regal Empress (1953-2009)
• SS France / SS Norway (1961-2008)
• RMS Empress of Britain / Carnivale (CCL-Carnival) / Olympic / Topaz (1955-2008)
• Bremerhaven / Stella Maris 2 /Viking Bordeaux / Madagascar / Razzmatazz (1961-2008)
• Jean Mermoz / Serenade / Serena (1957-2008)
• Victoria / Anastasis (1953-2007)
• RMS Windsor Castle / Margarita l (1959-2006)
• Free State Mariner / Monterey / Monte (1952-2006)
• RMS Ivernia (1971-2005)
• RMS Franconia (1963-2005)
• Fyodor Shalyapin (1971-2005)
• Tahitien / Atalante / Homericus (1953-2005)
• SS Eugenio C / Eugenio Costa / American Pioneer / Edinburgh Castle / Big Red Boat 2 (1964-2005)
• SS Statendam / Rhapsody / Regent Star / Sea Harmony (1957-2004)
• Dunnottar Castle / Princesa Victoria (1936-2004)
• Ivernia / Franconia / Fedor Shalyapin / Salona (1955-2004)
• Winston Churchill / Mayan Empress (1967-2004)
• Spero / Sappho / Santorini 3 / Santori (1966-2004)
• Aphrodite / Stella Oceanis (1965-2004)
• Cambodge / Stella Solaris (1953-2003)
• SS Argentina / Veendam / Monarch Star / Bermuda Star / Enchanted Isle / New Orleans (1958-2003)
• RMS Transvaal Castle / Festivale (CCL-Carnival) / Islandbreeze / Big Red Boat 3 (1961-2003)
• Shota Rustaveli / Assedo (1968-2003)
• SS Empress of Canada / Mardi Gras (CCL-Carnival) / Star of Texas / Apollon (1961-2001)
• Principe Perfeito / Marianna 9 / Fairsky / Vera / Mariann 9 (1961-2001)
• Aureol / Marianna 6 (1951-2001)

Next video is the 70-min long Canadian documentary film (by Michael Kot) titled "Shipbreakers" (2004) focusing on Alang Yard's deplorable working conditions.

The world's top-3 largest shipbreaking yards are Alang (India), Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Gadani (Pakistan). For CruiseMapper's collection of destroyed cruise liners see our Scrapped Cruise Ships.