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Vinod Mathew

ALANG, Sept. 18

THE world's largest ship recycling yard here is all set to enter a new era with the decision to go for amalgamation of the small and unviable plots that had led to much cluttering at Alang in the past eight years.

The decision was ratified by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) last week.

Interestingly, as many as 103 plots at the Alang-Sosiya Shipbreaking Yard, with 30 metre width, fall in this category and they may soon face the same future as that of the many ships that pull into these yards after their final voyage.

The decision will reverse the trend that began in the mid-90s by way of a Gujarat High Court order which resulted in the allocation of over 100 plots to aspiring shipbreakers in Sosiya, situated some 10 km off Alang.

Currently, there are 183 plots in Alang-Sosiya, of which only 80-odd ones are active, with many of the fly-by-night operators dying a natural death.Talking to Business Line, Mr P.N. Roy Choudhury, Vice- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GMB, said the 30-metre wide plots would become unviable in the coming days as small vessels were giving way to larger ones.

The decision was made as per the pending demand of the Gujarat Ship Breakers' Association (GSBA), he said.

"The GMB board's decision is to allow the amalgamation of back-end plots by carving them up into two and merging the halves with two of the adjacent ones. The other major empowering decisions include the exchange of plots for easier amalgamation and simplification of procedures for the acquisition of neighbouring plots by existing licensees. Such a move would lead to the rationalisation of rates once the licences of plots come up for 10-year renewals in the next 30 months or so," Mr Choudhury said. The 57,000 LDT Pacific Blue from Greece chose Alang as its graveyard only earlier this month and the dice for the future of this shipbreaking yard seems to be well and truly cast. With the last fiscal witnessing scrap steel business worth Rs 2,400 crore at 27,27,233 tonnes from 333 ships, Alang seems to be beckoning the larger vessels.Thus, the largest shipbreaking yard in the world belies all fears of China and other developing countries taking away its pie in the sky.

As Alang undertakes a major make-over exercise to change its down-market and environment- and labour- unfriendly image that it had gained over the past decade or so, it may be time for ships from Canada to come calling soon, if recent overtures from the country is anything to go by. And if Canada comes calling, can the US be far behind in lifting its embargo on Alang? So feel the buoyant shipbreakers who are once gain looking at healthy margins.

And Alang may finally settle for around 100 large plots and a business volume of five million tonnes as the original club of 64 plot holders at Alang look at life after Sosiya.

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