Sunday, March 29, 2009

Darukhana

Thor Mercury on the beach

Thor Mercury is a General cargo vessel built in 1984 by Stocznia Gdynia S.A. - Gdynia, Poland. Current status: Decommissioned or lost. Formerly also known as POL Primrose, Italian Express, Kriti Peridot. Her gross tonnage is 13251. IMO 7905912

Here as Pol Primrose in 2000 at Durban
Credit: Andreas Schlatterer (Shipspotting)

On the 28th I visited Darukhana ship breaking yard. It was huge, it was dirty, it was indescribable. I saw 5-6 ships in different stages of scrapping. One ship being demolished I suspect might have been an ex-Finnish or Swedish ship as I could see the old name “Hamnö” embossed on the bow. Cutting was going on all ships and the shore was littered with gas bottles, cut out metal plates, ship furniture and equipment, people was milling around everywhere, the activity was like in an ant-nest. The immediate beach front was full of stores built from old steel plates and odd parts and inside was steel pipes, old propeller shafts and whatnot for sale. There must be tons of steel lying around. Business was going on briskly. All around was small hutments of slum dwellers, one could see old women around, food hawkers and kids running around. The pollution in this area was extensive, the beaches were soiled black after years of yard works.

Slum dwellers, shipbreakers huts

Storehouses with scrapped materials

Ships on the beach

Ships on the beach

Cutting gas is a big consumable

Me and Richard

Not so clean

Oily waters

 

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