A surprise court decision in Bangladesh may shutter the nation’s vast shipbreaking industry, at least temporarily. The judges were swayed by arguments made by the Bandladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, who have long contended that the industry is among the planet’s dirtiest. Indeed, you probably don’t want to know what happens to the guts of a chemical tanker after a couple decades on the high seas.
But is there a greener way of scrapping ships? The British are trying to give it a go in Liverpool, ushering the HMS Intrepid into that sweet goodnight.
More stunning images from Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry here and here.
Tony Comstock // Mar 25, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I remember seeing this images years ago; maybe in National Geographic. Something about the mixed scale, huge and human; and mixed technology, high to build, low to break.
Long URL, but an another view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&q=Chittagong,+Bangladesh&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=q2vKSdOkMabpnQf7562RAw&ll=22.327023,91.848552&spn=0.004292,0.005777&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr
Tony Comstock // Mar 25, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Grrr. Fuggin URL didn’t seem to work. Go south to the river, then east until you come to the big ships stuck in the mud.
Brendan I. Koerner // Mar 25, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Edward Burtynsky is the photog. Did a whole series on shipbreaking in Bangladesh. His exhibit on Guangdong Province factories was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in a museum. Genius. And Canadian. Sort of like Neil Peart.