ON THE SCRAPHEAP
Inside incredible cruise ship ‘graveyards’ where retired £500million vessels go to die – here’s how they’re demolished
INCREDIBLE pictures show how cruise ships are demolished when they come to the end of their life.
The giant £500 million vessels are taken to specialist yards, like the one at Aliaga in Turkey, and then dismantled piece-by-piece.
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Despite the value of the ships, the Covid pandemic has hit the cruise industry to the extent it’s more economical for them to be sold for scrap.
The ships make their sad final journey to the yard where they sail bow first into the land, leaving the stern still afloat.
Then a huge team of around 2500 ship breakers moves into begin taking the huge vessel apart.
The process usually begins at the bow, with workers making their way through the ship until they reach the stern.
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At first the expensive navigation equipment is removed, along with all the furniture including beds, floors and even pianos.
Emre Aras, a manager at the Aliaga yard, said that cruise ships present a unique challenge compared to the other ships it dismantles.
“I can safely say that cruise vessels are the hardest vessel type to dismantle because there are hundreds of rooms on board,” he said.
Then comes taking out all floors, walls, handrails and windows with lots of saws and blowtorches needed to complete the work.
Massive sections of the hull are moved over head with massive cranes capable of lifting objects of 2000 tons in one go.
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From start to finish it takes about a year to dismantle a cruise ship, about double the time taken to demolish a cargo ships.
All the parts are moved into separate piles and with the fittings sold on to places like restaurants and hotels, while the steel is melted down and used in industry.
As well as Aliaga other cruise ship graveyard include Alang, India and Chittagong in Bangladesh.
These yards aren't specifically cruise ships and dismantle hundreds of giant ships including cargo ship and tankers.
Joining the ranks of ships to be dismantled is the Global Dream II which is to be scrapped even before its maiden voyage.
The ship 20-deck vessel can carry 9000 passengers and is thought to be worth a cool £900million.
Amenities on-board include outdoor waterpark and posh cinema.
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German-Hong Kong shipbuilding firm MV Werften had nearly completed building the ship when the company filed for bankruptcy at the start of this year.
As yet, no buyer for the huge ship has been found - and it's now set to be scrapped.
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