When a new boat is christened, it is celebrated in style and the traditional ritual of breaking a bottle of champagne on the hull is not missed, all accompanied by music.
However, the burial of a ship is less cheerful and ceremonious. It is estimated that More than 700 large ships are dismantled every year. Many of them end up in ship graveyards around the world.
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There, they are often dismantled and recycled in poor conditions, which increases environmental pollution.
However, there are also ship graveyards created unintentionally by abandoned vessels or man-made environmental disasters.
Below are some of the places where They are going to die those ships:
Alang (India)
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Hundreds of ships have been dismantled every year at this ship graveyard in Alang, India, for decades.
However, the facility is highly controversial because unsafe working conditions cause constant accidents and the nearby beach, which was normally clean, is now contaminated by oils and metals.
Nouadhibou (Mauritania)
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The world’s largest graveyard of decaying ships is located in Casando Bay, off the east coast of Mauritania. Specifically, 126 ships have been abandoned here.
Many of the vessels are fishing vessels, as after Mauritania expanded its fleet, many of the boats became unprofitable due to market saturation.
In 2006, with the help of the European Union, The remains began to be removed progressively.
Chittagong (Bangladesh)
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This location stands out for its economic importance for the local population, since around 150,000 people depend on it.
The working conditions are also dangerous: it is estimated that more than twenty employees die each year from accidents. Environmental pollution is very high.
New York (United States)
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Near New York City, there is a ship graveyard that has belonged to a family for years.
Founded in the 1930s by John J. Witte, the cemetery was taken over by his son-in-law John Coyne after his death. Today, the ship graveyard is run by John Witte’s son Arnold.
At the moment, There are more than 100 boats on the west coast of Staten Island, but in the past there were as many as 400.
Vladivostok (Russia)
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More than 40 warships of the Russian Pacific Fleet are stationed off the coast of Vladivostok.
The vessels have been there since the 1970s and range from submarines to patrol boats.
Montevideo (Uruguay)
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More than 50 ships have been abandoned for years in an old port in the capital of Uruguay, which has been a major cause of concern for local authorities.
Many of them have been abandoned by their owners because of their debts.
Aral Sea (between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan)
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The Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the world’s fourth largest inland lake. But due to increasing water consumption in the region, as well as salinization and environmental pollution, the water level has dropped dramatically over the years.
Today, the lake holds only one-tenth of its original water volume.
Traditionally, there used to be a lot of maritime traffic. Due to the disappearance of water, many ships are stranded at the bottom of the newly formed Aralkum Desert.
One of the largest man-made environmental disasters has also given rise to one of the largest ship graveyards in the world.
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