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Ship breaking or ship demolition involves breaking up of ships for scrap.
Until the late twentieth century, ship breaking took place in port cities in the "First World," including the United States. Today, however, most ship breaking yards are in developing nations (principally Bangladesh, China, and India). This is due to the rules dealing with lead paint and other toxic substances. However there are some "breakers" in the United states that still operate. Currently many ships are also sunk to make artificial reefs after being cleaned up.
See also
External reading
- End of the Line a photo essay on the ship breaking yards of Chittagong, Bangladesh by Brendan Corr
- Google satellite images of Alang Ship Breaking Yards
- 1998 Pulitzer prize winning Baltimore Sun investigative reporting series on the shipbreaking industry in Alang
- NPR host Alex Chadwick talks with Will Englund of the Baltimore Sun about a series of articles he co-wrote about the shipbreaking industry
- ILO publication on shipbreaking
- www.claudiocambon.com - contains a photo essay about the last voyage, demolition, and recycling of an American merchant ship in Chittagong, Bangladesh done in 1998 by documentary photographer Claudio Cambon. Some of the photographs from this series illustrated William Langewiesche's original article about shipbreaking in the August 2000 Atlantic Monthly.
"Ship breaking"