TravelAPR 5, 2015

I Went To Pakistan To Photograph A Ship Breaking Yard.

It was the 3rd time that I was trying to photograph a Ship Breaking Yard in Asia. Earlier in 2010 I tried to enter yards in Alang in India and in Chittagong in Bangladesh. The project failed due to monsoon season and heavy security in those locations. Then, in 2011, I went to Pakistan to try once again in Gadani. A Ship Breaking Yard in Baluchistan - the South West province of Pakistan.

Ship Breaking is the process of dismantling vessels for scrap recycling or disposal. While some other alternatives for ship disposal exist, the dismantling of a vessel is more attractive from an economic point of view, because it allows materials, such as steel, to be recycled.

Ship Breaking Yards are located all over Asia and are subject of controversy, due to the lack of enforcement of environmental and safety legislations, where salary, health, safety and working standards are minimal. It's a garbage dump of epic proportions. Environmental campaign groups such as Greenpeace have made the issue a high priority for their activities.

When I was talking with the workers at the yard, all of them had only one thing to say: "That's how thing are here, we are happy to have this job and provide to our families. We are proud to be ship breakers ... "

More info: en.wikipedia.org