THE SHIPBREAKERS

© ILO, 2000
23 minutes
Director: Sanja Göhre
Executive producer: Miguel Schapira
Editor: Damien Riunaud
Narrator: Tom Netter

Where does the ship go to die? For decades, the work of ship-breaking, has been cast adrift from one port to another until today. Only a handful of nations are willing to accept the dirty and dangerous work of dismantling a ship by hand. It is one of the world's most unregulated industries leaving a swath of debris, disability and even death in its wake. But for countries like Bangladesh, ship-breaking provides jobs and resources that it cannot afford to lose.

"The Shipbreakers" exposes the atrocious working conditions of the men who dismantle ships. ILO cameras were granted special access to the shipbreaking yards of India and Bangladesh where ships are turned into scrap amid conditions that can turn workers into unwilling victims of gas explosions or tons of falling steel. Interviews with shipowners, government and industry experts as well as the workers themselves reveal the complex and often misunderstood issues that surround this industry. As more ships are put to sea, transporting the goods of globalization, who will dispose of the vessels at the end of their useful life? Is there a decent humane way to break a ship? The questions posed by "The Shipbreakers" are questions to challenge the course of globalization.