Here’s a video of the ship breaking operations at the Gadani Ship Breaking Yard in Pakistan.  At one point, the yard was the largest ship-breaking yard in the world but today holds the number 3 spot next to Alang, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Thousands of laborers risk their lives daily to earn about $4 per day and produce up to 1 million tons of scrap metal annually, which is sold mostly in the domestic market.  In fact, ship-breaking at Gadani produced about 70 percent of the country’s steel requirement in 2011, according to Reuters.

Ship-breaking at Gadani is inherently dangerous and suffers severely from lax safety standards and unregulated working conditions which of course leads to high injury and death rates.

The absence of adequate safety measures at the Gadani Ship-breaking Yard has resulted in five deaths and 13 injuries since January 1, 2012. These accidents are primarily because the workers are not being provided with medical facilities or safety gear such as helmets and boots which could possibly prevent such accidents.

The Gadani Ship-breaking Yard is currently experiencing high levels of activity, with scores of ships being dismantled at the yard every day. However, because of the lack of medical facilities and safety equipment, there have been numerous cases of deaths and injuries. – ShipbreakingPlatform.org

Photo Gallery – Gadani, Pakistan 2010

Below, an interactive Google map allows you to explore the ghost ships that rest along the beach at Gadani.

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