What Happens to Old Ships

scrap shipsyard

Photo courtesy of http://www.stevemccurry.com

Curious about what happens to old ships? The fate of old ships going to scrap yards or deliberately sunk for a quick burial is pretty common among lay people. What’s uncommon is the way these old ships are scrapped, sunk, or recycled for whatever purpose the ships’ parts may serve – some purpose you might never thought existed. However, one thing is certain about old ships disposal: it’s a pretty big business in developing worlds in the expense of its people and the environment.

Taking care of dirty business

sinking old ships

Photo courtesy of http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/

Most old ships are sold for scrap, gutted and cut into sections of raw steel that can be used for other purpose aside from re-melting. The pieces of metal that doesn’t fit the bill are sold to iron smelters to be re-melted into new blocks of metal ready for whatever purpose it may serve – even ready to go for a new ship or to a new skyscraper. Another popular way of resting old ships is by deliberate sinking in shallow waters to become underwater attractions and manmade reef system. The widely publicized old ship that’s sank for this purpose was the USS Oriskany which was sunk off the coast of Florida and is now home to hundreds of fish and coral species.

Unusual fate of old ships

old ships steel plates

Photo courtesy of http://blog.usni.org

For some old ships parts, people’s creativity and sheer need breathe new life to them such as the parts of the old HMS Resolute. Certainly you’ve seen the table used by several presidents in the Oval Office for several decades now: the Resolute Desk. But did you know that the famous presidential table, which has a twin table in the Buckingham Palace, is constructed from an old HMS ship, HMS Resolute? That’s how the table got its famous name, the Resolute Desk. Another peculiar used of an old ship, the German Tirpitz, steel slab is a road patch in Norway. If you happen to drive down Norway’s streets, lookout for steel plates patches on the road because you’ve just spotted one of Germany’s belligerent ships during WWII.

The old ships hazards

dangerous shipyards

Although scrapping old ships is a big business, it’s a dirty business nonetheless. Several developing countries like Bangladesh, China, and India are plagued by ship scrapping yards that do not only pose real dangers to their workers but to the environment too. The working conditions in these old ships scrap yards are appalling; cloud of cancerous fumes constantly fills the air and workers either die or maimed almost every day by clashing heavy steel. Air, soil, and water pollutants, too, escape into the environment 24/7. It’s truly a matter of concern not just by these countries, but countries that ship old ships to them too.

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