At Alang on the western coast of India, one may find second-hand doors, lifebuoys, light bulbs and other salvaged goods from broken ships, reports Atlas Obscura.
Doors to Lifebuoys
Rajubhai Kanubhai Baraiya owns one of the furniture stores in the region. Baraiya points to some of his wares. “That,” he says, gesturing at a deep brown settee then cocking his head as his appraises it. “I could maybe sell that for Rs 6,000 [$86].”
The settee he points to isn’t new. Neither are most of the other items in Baraiya’s Sahajanand Enterprises, a furniture store specializing in second-hand items sourced from old ships after they are ripped up and dismantled in the adjacent graveyard.
This is one of dozens of second-hand shops that line the 6-mile market stacked with goods large and small, old and very old, everyday and extraordinary; from doors and tea sets to mattresses, soft-serve ice cream machines, and lifebuoys.
To pore through some of these stores is to encounter a bric-a-brac from the banal to the esoteric; light bulbs, speakers, and analog television sets brushing up against world maps, espresso machines, dart boards, and models of ships.
Alang tide favors shipbreaking
Gujarat’s 1,000-mile coastline is the longest of any Indian state, and Alang’s high tide and gently sloping approach make it perfect for shipbreaking activities.
The yard is the resting place for 200 or more ships annually, even as it has faced criticism over hazardous working conditions, accidents, and environmentally damaging practices.
This came about after the shipbreaking industry moved out of the United States and Europe in the late ‘70s due to high labor costs and more stringent environmental regulations.
Shipyards moved to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, where looser oversight has prevailed.
Shipbreaking process
When a ship arrives to be broken, workers take every bit apart using blowtorches, gas cutters, and hammers. Steel and iron is recycled, and some of the ship’s parts, including furniture, bedding, and kitchenware from the living quarters, are sold off in bulk.
Dealers in the yard who specialize in cabins buy them in their entirety from the breaking companies.
Then they call market storekeepers like Baraiya, who take a look at what’s on offer, weaving in and out of the cabin, touching and testing furniture, doors, utensils, and conjuring up a reasonable price.
At a silent auction the storekeepers write on a piece of paper how much they are willing to pay. The highest bidder wins.
If it’s a smaller ship, with fewer rooms and amenities, the auction could be over in a few hours. If it’s a cruise liner with hundreds of rooms, it might take days.
“Ship stuff lasts longer [since it’s waterproof and foreign-manufactured] so people like to buy it,” says Baraiya.
Ship scrapping from many countries
“The local stuff might be cheaper, but those who know prefer to buy from Alang’s ships.” Set up in 1983, the shipyard has scrapped nearly 8,000 ships, including cargo ships, containers, oil tankers, and cruise liners.
The yard has scrapped ships from Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, United States, Norway, and Singapore, foreign vessels with the patina of glamour, vessels bearing usable and much-coveted foreign-manufactured interiors.
No one is quite clear when the market beside Alang’s shipyard sprung up, but it was likely in the mid- to late-’80s. Everyone agrees on one thing: What was once a small bunch of shops has burgeoned into a miles-long shopping boulevard.
“The market became well-established by 2000,” says Nitin Kanakiya, honorary secretary of the Ships Recycling Industry Association, which has 140 members. “It has been constantly growing and people come from all over to shop here. It is unique.”
Current scenario
The overall business at the market has been slow lately, most shop owners say, attributing this to a jumble of factors:
- the continuing after-effects of demonetization in 2016 when the government withdrew and later reissued high-value banknotes,
- the introduction of a new goods and services tax, and
- the decline in the number of ships being broken. (The number of ships scrapped peaked in 2011—12 at 414, compared to 253 in 2017—18.)
Some stores have resorted to selling new goods in addition to ship-sourced goods, or in the local parlance, “Indian” or “Chinese” as opposed to “ship goods.”
“There is more competition now,” says Pareshbhai Baraiya, a furniture dealer who only sells new goods. “There are more shops, things are expensive, so not everyone can buy ship goods.”
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Source: Atlas Obscura
