Alang

Alang is a small town near Bhavnagar in Gujarat, India.

A French ship watitng the ship breakers at Alang

Understand

Alang is best known for its shipbreaking yards, where more than 1500 ships per year are dismantled and recycled, often with bare hands and welding torches. Tourists are not welcome, but some photographers have been able to sneak in and get amazing photos of massive ships being dismantled for parts and steel. (See also Chittagong, Bangladesh).

Get in

Alang can be reached by bus from Bhavnagar, 52 km or Palitana, 51 km. It is 219 km from Ahmedabad. The nearest railway station is Bhavnagar.

See

• Ship Breaking Yard. Alang is the biggest ship breaking facility in the world. There are more than 400 ship breaking platforms here. They break about 1,500 ships every year. At any time about 300 people can be working on a single ship. The total workforce here is 40,000 plus. There are complaints about the treatment of workers and their service conditions. Ships are broken down crudely by hand using the minimum of machinery. There are many shops and agencies in Alang that specialize in buying and reselling all the items recovered from ships from machine parts to cushions. (updated Jun 2015)