Gadani Ship Breaking Yard (Pakistan)

Gadani is an Arabian Sea port town in Pakistan's Balochistan province (Hub District), with population around 10,000. The town is approx 55 km (35 mi) to the northwest from Pakistan's principal port and largest city Karachi, at ~1,5-hours drive distance.

However, the town is best-known for the Gadani Ship Breaking Yard - which by annual GT tonnage (volume of scrapped ships) is currently ranked the world's third-largest - following Alang (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh), and followed by Aliaga (Turkey).

The 1947-founded Gadani yard spreads across a beachfront area with length around 10 km (6 mi) and consists of 132 shipbreaker plots. Currently, the yard's max shipbreaking capacity is 125 ships (annually) and it employs around 6000 workers. Here are dismantled all types of vessels, including oil and gas tankers, cargo carriers, container ships, ferries, cruise ships.

During its heyday (1970s), the Gadani yard employed 30000+ workers and was ranked the world's largest shipbreaking/recycling facility. The scrap metal that is currently salvaged here is just ~1/5 of the annual output reported thru 1980. Yard workers' daily wages range between USD 4-12.

Cruise ships scrapped at Gadani

Classic ocean liners that were beached and dismantled here include SS Dwarka (1947-1982/British India Steam Navigation Company), Anna C (1955-1984/Costa Cruises), SS Canberra (1961-1998/P&O Cruises UK), SS Michelangelo (1965-1991/Italian Line).

Next are listed large cruiseferries scrapped at Gadani.

• Lord Warden (1951-1981 as "Al Zaher"/Ahmed Mohamed Baaboud Saudi Arabia)
• Kirkham Abbey (1956-1983 as "Maldive Importer"/Associated Humber Lines via Maldives Shipping)
• Sarnia (1960-1987 as "Saudi Golden Star"/Find Establishment Saudi Arabia)
• Avalon (1963-1981 as "Valon"/Seafaith Navigation Cyprus)
• Fennia (1966-2010 as "Kaptain Boris"/Silja Line)
• St Columba (1977-2021 as"Masarrah"/Namma Shipping Lines)
• Eptanisos (1984-2004 as "Pollux 1"/Blue Star Ferries)
• King Minos (1987-2019 as "Mawadahh"/Minoan Lines)
• Orange Ace (1989-2019 as "Shidao"/Shikoku Kaihatsu Ferry)

The most recent "famous" cruise ships scrapped at Gadani are Costa neoRomantica (1993-2021 as "Antares Experience"), Carnival Fascination (1994-2022 as "Century Harmony"/CCL-Carnival Cruise Line), Sun Viking (1972-2022 as "Oriental Dragon"/Royal Caribbean), Salamis Filoxenia (1975-2022).

Note: Due to the Coronavirus crisis and IMO's new regulations (marine engine upgrades for using low-sulfur fuels and LNG), in 2020-2021 were scrapped 15 cruise liners - an unprecedented number in comparison to previous years, and even 5-year periods. In 2020, the average ship scrap metal (DWT-deadweight tonnage) prices in Alang rose to ~USD 400 per ton (from ~$200), in Aliaga - to ~USD 300 per ton (from ~$100). EU-flagged ships' scrap values were ~USD 100-200 per ton as these vessels require dismantling at EU-certified yards. Ship scrap prices in the USA were USD 80-90 per ton.