Cruise Ships Being Docked And Dismantled For Scrap Metal As The Pandemic Destroys The Industry

The global cruise industry has been negatively affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, cruise ships are being dismantled and sold as scrap metal.

Aerial footage has been shown after being shot by drones. You can see workers taking apart the vessels that are docked in Aliaga, located on the west coast of Turkey.

There are five ships being dismantled and three more ships are soon to join that number.

Kamil Onal is the chairman of a ship recycling industrialists association. According to him, prior to the pandemic, cargo and container ships were typically handled in Turkey’s ship breaking yards.

“But after the pandemic, cruise ships changed course towards Aliaga in a very significant way,” he said.

“There was growth in the sector due to the crisis. When the ships couldn’t find work, they turned to dismantling.”

Vessels have arrived from Britain, Italy, and the United States to be dismantled.

When the coronavirus pandemic happened, cruise ships were home to some of the earliest clusters.

For example, the Australian government was evacuating over 150 Australians stuck on the Diamond Princess off Japan in February. Within weeks, any foreign-flagged cruise ships were ordered out of Australian waters. That ban has been extended until at least December 17.

The Ruby Princess is another infamous ship that docked in Sydney. It is thought that at least 28 people died as a result of coronavirus that was spread on that ship.

A no-sail order was issued by US authorities in March, having further impact on the cruise industry. That order is still in place.

According to Mr. Onal, approximately 2500 people work at the yard in teams. A full passenger ship takes approximately six months to dismantle.

The volume of reclaimed steel is hoped to be up to 11 million tonnes by the end of the year. In January, it was at 700,000 tonnes.

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