Ship Breakers Want Work to Resume at Gadani

The Pakistan Ship Breakers Association has appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri to allow resumption of shipbreaking activities at the Gadani yard.

The government suspended operations after a tanker fire left at least 26 workers dead and over 50 others injured a little over a month ago.

The Association highlighted the important role the industry plays in the country’s economy. The suspension is affecting shipbreakers and their workers as well as local steel mills, it says. The price of steel has risen as a result.

Gadani is the world's third largest shipbreaking yard, with facilities along a six-mile stretch of beachfront. It used to be the world's leading shipbreaker, but it has lost ground to Alang, India, and Chittagong, Bangladesh. 

The Association expressed its profound sympathies for those who had lost their lives as a result of the fire incident and announced a compensation package for their families.

Accidents and injuries are common in the shipbreaking facilities of South Asia, where vessels are driven up onto the beach and dismantled under lightly regulated working conditions.