There is a place where ships go to "die": this is the huge cruise ship cemetery on the coast of Türkiye

Recycling is a very controversial topic because, for years, we have done it wrong. So bad that AI may be the key tool to make our recycling system stop being broken. Measures continue to be proposed to make recycling more efficient in industries such as mobile telephony, but if there is a great recycling machine worldwide, it is that of the naval industry.

There are enormous cemeteries in which large cruise ships are given a second life. And in Türkiye there is one of the most important.

Cruising speed… at the clean point. The pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, affecting a multitude of sectors, and vacation cruises were no exception. Although after the crisis activity began to be reactivated, several companies saw that there was no demand and decided to recycle (sell them in pieces to shipyards) some of their oldest ships. The destination was the Aliaga shipyard and an example of these floating hotels sent to be broken up is that of the ships 'Inspiration', 'Imagination' and 'Fantasy', from the Carnival company.

Let's go in parts. When a ship has to be dismantled, the process is “simple.” This is common in shipbreaking yards in both developing countries (where ships run aground on sand) and in developed countries: the front of the ship runs aground while the rear is still floating on the water. Operators access the interior and mark dangerous or flammable materials such as electronic equipment, fire extinguishers or cylinders. The next step is to collect those marked items and take them to points where they will be treated properly. They call it 'cleaning the house'.

The next step is to secure the boat because the cutting process begins. The ship is cut little by little, as if it were an elongated cake, inside a gigantic platform in the final section of which there is a drainage area. This traps any hazardous elements or contaminants that may result from the cutting process so that they do not end up in the sea.

It is not fast. To give an example, in a 30,000-ton ship, 95% of the hull is made of iron and steel. HE esteem that 90% of these materials can be recycled, which represents about 25,000 tons that have a value of about seven million dollars. Now, that example is that of a freighter and it differs in a cruise ship, in which there is much more material. In fact, in one interview carried out a few years ago, those responsible stated that, while for a freighter the process takes about six months, doing the same on a cruise ship takes a year. And when all that metal is collected, it is transported to a recycling plant six kilometers from the shipyards to prepare them for a second life in the construction industry.

Recycling and second hand. Recycling the boat is not just marking the sensitive points, disabling them and cutting the metal: it involves a long process of… dismantling the boat itself. It is curious, but it seems that there are boats in which the material from the rooms and rooms is not collected, so 2,500 workers enter these huge hotels to remove the gym equipment, chairs, cutlery, beds, lighting systems and even pianos. Wooden floors, windows or stairs also come into play.

Then this is separated into piles organized by categories such as electronic products, lighting, decoration, furniture or textile elements and, although objects are recycled and others are given a second life (such as cutlery for dining rooms, hotels or restaurants), They also claim that you can make a lot of money from second-hand sales. There are also enthusiasts who want to buy boat furniture or items such as maps, art or life jackets. In the interview they were not very clear about this, but they were clear about the salary: about $1,500.

Human and environmental controversies. Now, although it seems that it is not poorly paid, it is not an easy job. Nicola Mulinaris of NGO Shipbreaking Platform says it is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. There are many workers passing under huge cranes that move tons of material and two workers recently died in Aliaga. Additionally, it can also be unsafe for both the environment. If the space is not well conditioned, waste can be dumped that ends up in the sea.

Huge differences between shipyards. After the many controversies that arose a few years ago around this industry in Turkey due to the conditioning of the shipyard and the continuous accidents, they complied with the regulations international standards and improved conditions for both workers and environmental care. Now, it is an industry in which abysmal differences are observed between developing and developed countries.

The technique is the same in both, but while in facilities in developed countries recycling rates of 98% can be achieved, with a reduced number of accidents, in developing countries it is something very different. There is not as much attention to the environmental issue and, furthermore, the precautionary measures to avoid accidents are fewer. In fact, while in developed countries they run aground in a dry dock with the aforementioned drainage segment, in developing countries the ships are 'parked' directly on the sand on the beaches.

Little by little, of course, safety measures are being implemented both for shipyard workers and for nature in shipyards around the world.

Image | Google Maps, Nayeem Noor

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