In Alang, India, less than 200 miles from bustling Mumbai, lies one of the most impressive cemeteries in the world. There are no tombstones or cemeteries to mark these decayed and desecrated sights. In its place is a port, lined with the wrecks of once-mighty ships. “This is where ships die and people die with them,” we’re told in Shipbreaker’s earliest moments. This beautifully crafted documentary immerses viewers in a setting that many didn’t even know existed.
When the large ships are beyond their usefulness, they make the final journey to Arang, where teams of thousands wait to disassemble and process their parts. These workers hail from India’s poorest cities, hoping to earn enough money to send home to their starving families. Once they arrive, their tasks are difficult and dangerous.
They often worked several floors above ground, firing them into pieces while feebly trying to balance on steel plates. A large steel plate may fall on them at any time. Cables could snap accidentally, killing any workers in their way.
But the threat of death is not always so immediate. Anyone working in recycling is at risk of downfall for a longer period of time. They have little protection from the soot that devours them daily from the blast furnaces. At the same time, the disposal of unusable waste has proven to be environmentally disastrous; thereby posing a threat to all.
Components from each ship are often recycled and sold as scrap to interests in India and beyond. There are people who get rich from these businesses, but not the workers. They toil for minimum wage with no benefits in unbearable conditions.
While India’s Supreme Court and other organizations have worked to enact stricter safety regulations, when we look at working conditions throughout the film, there is little evidence of these improvements. We have been introduced to many ship breakers. Each of them seems to accept the fact that this is their inevitable fate. Shipbreaker maintains a darkly melancholic tone as it portrays a person whose lifestyle can also lead to their death.
Directed by: Michael Kot
