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Alang Shipbreaking Yard: On the mend

Vinod Mathew

THE nodal agency for port development in the State, the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), has framed a new set of regulations in its bid to change the image of the Alang Shipbreaking Yard as the `most dangerous business destination' in the country. Talking t o Business Line, Mr P. N. Roy Choudhury, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of GMB, said the regulations came into effect from September 1, 2000 and has already had a significant impact on the manner in which business is being carried at Alang wit h the ship-breakers moving fast from a path of confrontation to that of compliance.

The regulations, which were already being implemented in the guise of an MoU with the ship-breakers, had resulted in the death rate at Alang getting reduced from 32 last year to only 15 during the first nine months of this year. Titled the ``GMB (Prevent ion of Fire & Accidents for Safety & Welfare of Workers and Protection of Environment during Ship-Breaking Activities) Regulations, 2000'', it includes: a) ship-breaking plots; b) beaching permission; c) permission for cutting; d) cutting operations; e) action to be taken in case of accidents due to non-compliance and f) dealing with ships having toxic contents.

``Alang will no longer be the most dangerous business destination in the country as the death rates have dropped by 50 per cent this year. Till December, the accidental deaths at Alang was limited to 15 as against 32 in the last fiscal. Accident rates to o have shrunk by a comparable margin as basic efforts are well under way to minimise these accidents which more often than not arise from avoidable negligence,'' Mr Choudhury said.

The accidents that presently occur at Alang are of two types, down from the dozen varieties that used to frequent the shipbreaking yard in the pre-regulation days. While the one common source of injury and quite often death is the unplanned movement of c ranes which lead to heavy objects hitting the workers, the other way to a quick end is the fall from great heights.

``Admittedly, ship-breaking is no pretty sight but the fact remains that India needs scrap and the employment generation scope in this industry is tremendous. Currently, if the industry is in a bad shape, it is not because of any blacklisting of Alang by the international community but because not sufficient number of ships are available due to a boom in the shipping industry as the Baltic indices prove. The other aspect is that our ship-breakers often come second to their Chinese counterparts who seem ready to buy the vessels at any price these days,'' Mr Choudhury added.

Just as the regulations that come with a set of penal measures strive to keep a check on the erring ship-breakers, ultimately the change has to come from within and get reflected in the basic work culture at Alang. Thus, the single chain that lifts huge steel plates is increasingly giving way to two chains and more and more plots are witnessing areas where heavy objects are being moved getting cordoned off.

Clearly, the stress would be on retaining the edge as the world's largest and cheapest ship-breaking yard in the world by retaining the industry as labour-intensive as possible. But at some point of time, the authorities will have to ensure that some sor t of balance is struck between the manpower aspect and the induction of some technology gizmos that ensure reduced loss of life and limb.

Excerpts from the Alang Regulations

* The ship-breakers shall follow the norms and guidelines provided under various international conventions and by United Nations bodies such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Labour Organisation;

* Necessary licenses for storage of LPG/oxygen cylinders required under Gas Cylinders Rules, 1981 has been obtained;

* Only one ship shall be allowed to beach at a time, though another ship may be allowed to be beached for a plot exceeding 30 metre width provided the aggregate width of the two ships is five metres less than the plot width. In case of smaller plots, the second ship may be beached behind the first, provided the first ship has been dismantled over 60 per cent in terms of weight;

* Applications for beaching oil tankers shall be accompanied by Gas Free Certificates, while in the case of cutting all kinds of petroleum products such as oil, fuel in tank and gas of all sorts has been emptied and evacuated;

* No cutting operation within a 10 metre radius of LPG storage area;

* In the event of fire/explosion/accident involving death or permanent disability of 20 per cent or more, all ship-breaking activities in the plot will be suspended for 15 days and provide an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 25,000 or more as decided by the Board;

* In case of second incident of fire/explosion/accident involving death or permanent disability of 40 per cent or more in the same plot, the permission for ship-breaking may be cancelled and other penal action taken; and

* In case of accident resulting in death of more than one individual, the permission for utilisation of the plot for ship-breaking activities to be cancelled with immediate effect and appropriate penal action taken depending on the gravity of the inciden t.