How Rich Nations Dump Old Cruise Ships And Oil Tankers In Developing Countries | Risky Business

this is where some of the largest ships in the world come to Die the gadani yard in Pakistan but the place is also a death trap for the hundreds of men who work to break down these rusted Giants for as little as $4 a day some of these vessels are here illegally like the cruise ship and T's experience which came from Greece International laws ban many foreign countries from dumping their toxic old ships on the beaches of developing countries for environmental reasons still loopholes allow these Giants to come here from China the Middle East and Europe through indirect routes shipping companies deliberately lie to authorities they do not disclose that their true intention is to scrap these ships in the worst possible yards located on the beaches of sou meanwhile most workers here come from far off Villages and have never even seen the ocean or a ship before so why are these vessels ending up on the shores of Pakistan and who is responsible for the safety of these underpaid workers propping up a billion dooll recycling industry [Music] [Music] this 85,000 ton Greek carrier supplied coal around the world but after sailing for 21 years the Enterprise Majuro is falling apart at 150 ft tall and 900 ft long this Beast will take a fleet of 200 workers about 3 months to filet for its parts many of them live right on the yard like aam Khan who moved here from Northern Pakistan these Huts belong to the boss of this ship lot and the men live here rentree as long as they work 6 days week and don't go outside past 8:00 p. m. no one here has clean running water and they all share a communal bathroom bandages his shoes for Extra Protection aam's main job is to break up smaller parts once they've been separated from the rods that hold the body of the ship [Music] gardani gets mostly cargo carriers oil tankers and cruise liners like this 1994 Carnival Fascination which sailed around the Caribbean to Miami until its features became outdated the ship was sold to a Chinese Cruise Company which soon decided to sell it for scrap to break down vessels here workers use What's called the gravity method they mostly let the parts fall on their own but that's how accidents can happen says Muhammad ashra who has worked here for half his life tractors drag the larger parts to shore where workers break them [Applause] down Ash has to take apart this entire chamber most ships don't make it past the age of 30 they insides begin to rust many contain poisonous chemicals like asbestos residual oil and toxic paint and breathing the dust can cause permanent lung damage or death nearly 2,000 people have been severely injured or killed on this beach since the late 1960s but that number is likely much higher many workers disappear or drown under falling parts and their debts often don't get tracked an international law enacted in 1992 technically requires countries to document all toxic waste before sending their ships abroad but experts say this is often ignored a lot of vessels that are reaching the shores of South Asia for breaking uh receive uh import clearance based on uh fake documents these documents declare that the vessels are toxic free workers when they will take these vessels apart they will face uh risks they are completely unaware of shipbreaking became a big business in Pakistan in the 1980s after Europe began regulating ship waste pollution on its own Shores that's when many developed Nations started sending their vessels off to countries with lack environmental regulations and cheap labor the industry grew across South Asia with yards expanding rapidly in Pakistan India and Bangladesh in the late 80s and '90s reports of accidents poor work conditions and child labor started to come out triggering a wave of international laws that tried to regulate the business nowadays developed countries aren't technically allowed to send their ships to places that don't have the same environmental standards and labor laws but it happens anyway like with the entari experience which came from Greece illegally we reached out to the ship's most recent recorded owners and operators but did not get a response but the most common paths are legal loopholes for example a European Shipping Company could get away with sending its vessel for scrapping to Pakistan if it first sends it to another another country that's allowed to export it there another way to get around the law is by registering a ship under countries with lacks regulations known as flags of convenience like the Enterprise which was owned by a Greek company but registered under the Marshall Islands a country known for its low taxes reports of the ships beached in gani in 2023 and 2024 show that most were registered under other flags of convenience like komos St kiten Nas and Panama but were usually owned by companies in China the Middle East and Greece 44-year-old Javid dibal sorts the parts ashra Cuts up [Music] but like most here he doesn't have a license to handle the screen he says no one's ever asked for [Music] it Javid moved here 25 years ago he sees his wife and three children once a year if he can afford time off crane operators like Javid are among the best paid on the lot but many workers here usually make about $4 a day less than the $6 minimum wage in Pakistan which buys 2 gallons of milk there despite attempts to regulate the business cheap labor and pollution are still a problem in yards across South Asia but the Aliaga yard in Turkey says it's different and that it's developed a recycling infrastructure designed to handle toxic waste that's partly why it's become one of the most popular destinations for Europe's old ships but reports show that Aliaga is heavily polluted with toxic substances now there's a new law the Hong Kong Convention which is set to take effect in June 2025 on paper it aims to make more parties from the ship's owner to its flag state to the country that recycles it responsible for safely disposing of it the agreement requires every arriving ship to have an inventory of its hazardous waste and a clear plan for how to handle it before accepting a vessel each yard needs to submit a recycling plan to its government and provide proof that they can do this without contaminating the environment or compromising workers safety India Bangladesh and turkey have all signed the treaty and have begun updating their yards Pakistan was the last major shipbreaking country to sign the convention and it's done little to modernize its practices Pakistan is one of the worst uh destinations uh for end of life vessels and experts say the new law may not change much it was crafted by the shipping industry itself and it's like putting the fox in charge of managing the chickens if convention will not be enforced properly and interpreted in a strict way it will simply rubber stamp current substandard practices it will greenwash the whole sector what uh today is illegal and unethical will suddenly uh become legal and okay and people who have worked here their whole lives worry about that too aam had other family members who worked here too but in 2016 an old oil tanker exploded while it was getting broken down down the blast claimed the lives of at least 29 men aam's relatives were among them the explosion left another 60 people severely burned or disabled for Life workers we spoke would said since the incident their employers have first aid and ambulances on standby the closest hospital is about 6 M away but it isn't equipped to handle serious cases the badly injured have to travel 1 hour to [Music] Karachi we couldn't reach the manager of the lot aam Khan works on but we spoke with the chairman of the Pakistan ship Breakers Association he also runs a ship lot here that's about $750 paid to the family of a worker who died on the job but activists say that families are often not notified since many workers don't have proof of employment faruki says that's not true register is divided into 132 Lots some are owned by private land owners and others by the government which leases the lots to private companies but these days many are vacant because getting a ship to Pakistan has gotten so expensive for example the folks who bought the Enterprise Majuro from its Greek owners paid about 10 million for it then they had to pay a 17% Customs tax to the Pakistani government and another 177% tax on all the parts of the ship that were resellable there's also a 1% Regional tax in gadani all this adds up to roughly $13.

5 million it's unclear if la ERS actually pay all the taxes many have been accused of exploiting government connections to skirt regulations but Shipyard owners say getting these vessels here ultimately helps the workers too once a ship is broken apart workers Salvage everything from desks and cabinets which which can be resold as wood scraps down to the screws and cables that once held all the ship's Parts together in fact up to 95% of a ship's remains can return a profit a ship's steel hull is among the most surprised if its BS the manager of this ship lot can resell it to metal Mills for millions of dollars the gani shipyard salvages about 1 and2 million tons of steel a year accounting for 20% of all the steel Pakistan uses it takes about 400 trucks to move just one ship's remains to their next destination this truck is off to a factory in lore here then they sort the scrap into piles depending on the shape and type of metal workers cut the ship walls into rectangles to fit this slicing machine This Crew got here at 4:30 a. m. and they won't finish until 8:00 p.

m.