Bhavnagar University Observatory

The Bhavnagar Universty Observatory, of the Department of Physics, which was severely damaged during the earthquake of Jan26, 2001, has been resurrected with donations from Dr Dipchand Gardi, the renowned Philanthropist. The observatory building completed and the telescope is being installed. We hope to operationalize it soon after the Monsoon.

Fastest ship docks at Alang for breaking

Since the inception of the Alang shipbreaking yard in 1982, a number of vessels have been scrapped here, including the controversial Blue Lady.

Now, the world’s fastest passenger-cum-conventional ferry ship has sailed in. Interestingly, it is the unbearable global fuel prices that have compelled the owners of the ship to sell it.

GTS Finnjet, built in 1977 and later renamed Motor Vessel (MV) Da Vinci and MV Kingdom since it has reached the scrapping yard, is the fastest ship in the world. However, due to its enormous speed, Kingdom also guzzles fuel in good quantum.

Thus, for its owners the ship had become a headache in balancing income and expenses.

GTS Finnjet was a cruise ferry, built in 1977 by Wartsila Helsinki, Finland for Finnlines to ply between Finland and Germany. At the time of her delivery, Finnjet was the fastest, longest and largest car ferry in the world, and the only one powered by gas turbines.

She is still the fastest conventional ferry as of 2008, with a recorded top speed of 33.5 knots.

Finnjet has remained out of service since 2005, laid up in Baton Rouge, Freeport and Genoa. Although she was purchased by Club Cruise in November 2007 and renamed GTS Da Vinci in January 2008 for rebuilding into a cruise ship, the ship was sold for scrap in May 2008 and named MV Kingdom.

Jeckon International, Liberia sold Kingdom to Rishi Ship Breakers at Alang and she has completed her final voyage from Jeddah port, arriving at Alang on June 13th. According to port sources, she might touch the plot on 19th June.

Kingdom weighs 15,500 metric tonnes, with a capacity of 3,500 passengers and 325 cars. At the time of her last professional voyage, there were 178 crew members aboard.

Generally ships travel at the speed of 10 to 20 sea nautical miles, but Kingdom boasts the speed of 33.5 knots. However, to generate this extra speed, she was consuming 45 tonnes fuel every day.

According to sources, including marine diesel, lubricant oil and other fuel she requires to run her voyage at the fuel cost of Rs25 lakh per day. The ship breaker has purchased Kingdom for Rs40 cror

Two dozen ships help Alang sail again

MUMBAI: Alang in Gujarat is swinging back to life. Once world’s largest ship demolition centre, now a marginal player, Alang is slowly breathing life into itself, thanks to over two dozen junk ships that were beached recently for breaking, after an unusually long break.

A ship-breaker from Alang said Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is only providing beaching permissions, and that none have received breaking clearance. “At least 25 ships have come to Alang for demolition.

However, there is confusion about their dismantling, after the supreme court came up with strict guidelines in October. Both GMB and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) are yet to begin strict implementation of the guidelines,” said another ship-breaker.

The apex court had asked GMB to set up a model ship-breaking yard for others to emulate and follow strictly. However, the board is yet to construct the yard. Indian breakers are buying ships at a new record, $500 per light displacement tonnage (LDT). A breaker said their counterparts in Bangladesh were buying large tankers at $575 per LDT and above.

“But they seemed to have burnt their fingers in such high-value transactions. Apparently, they seem to have slowed down their purchases during last one month. The recent cyclone is also believed to have impacted their businesses,” said an official.

Post the court order, GPCB had recently finalized norms for scrutinising the ships coming demolition as per the fresh guidelines issued by the court in October, 2007. The `desk review’ of the ships is now mandatory before anchoring, and it is to be completed aboard the ship by a team comprising of officials from the GPCB and the customs department.

While ships beach at Alang, so are the controversies. After `Blue Lady’, it is the turn of `Aqaba Express’, anchored at Alang, to raise environmental and health concerns. Last month, the UN’s Basel Secretariat wrote to Indian government warning hazardous materials on board the ship.

It claimed that the vessel was arrested in Spain for operating under a certificate that declared it was on a final voyage for demolition in India or Bangladesh. Initial tests proved that the vessel carried hazardous substances such as asbestos and PCB.

The Spanish government had allowed the ship to sail off from Almeria in August for Constanza in Romania, where it was to undergo repairs. But it changed course and sailed to Alang. The 1975-built ship, formerly called 'Beni Ansar', was registered in Moroni in Comoros. The Basel Secretariat has asked Indian government to ensure that the standards of the Basel Convention are met.

'Blue Lady' is still facing legal tangles even after the apex court pronounced its verdict. Indian Platform on Ship-breaking, a green body consisting Greenpeace and Basel Action Network (BAN), has moved the court once again with a petition.

While India has gone ahead with its own rules for safe ship-breaking, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is close to finalizing a set of guidelines. Top officials from IMO, European Union and Basel are visiting Alang and Mumbai in the first week of January, before the working group of MEPC is slated to meet in Paris by January-end, to finalise the IMO’s guidelines.

Alang yard back in news

GANDHINAGAR: The Alang ship-breaking yard in Bhavnagar on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat is back in controversy. The State-owned Gujarat Maritime Board, which manages the ship-breaking yard and has given on lease plots of land in Alang to the ship-breakers, and the Alang Ship Recycling Industries Association are not even aware that another asbestos-laden ship has set sail for the Bhavnagar coast.

"The GMB is not in the picture, it will be for the Supreme Court to decide whether such a ship can be brought to Alang for breaking," the GMB manager in-charge of Alang, M.M. Khatri, said.

A couple of months ago, the Clemenceau, a French de-commissioned aircraft carrier carrying about 450 tonnes of asbestos, was recalled by the French Government after the controversy surrounding the facilities available at Alang for handling hazardous materials.

Both Mr. Khatri and the Association joint secretary, Nitin Kanakiya, claimed that they came to know from newspaper reports quoting Greenpeace activists that SS Norway, better known as Blue Lady, was on its way to Alang from Malaysia carrying at least 900 tonnes of asbestos for breaking.

Mr. Kanakiya said he was not even aware if any Alang-based consortium had bought the ship, claimed to be the second largest in the world after the ill-fated Titanic. He, however, said that if the ship was carrying 900 tonnes of asbestos as claimed, it would be in violation of the Basal convention and must be cleaned before it was docked at Alang.

But handling the ship even with 900 tonnes of asbestos would be no problem for Alang, Mr. Khatri pointed out. The GMB has only last month commissioned the hazardous material disposal facilities at Alang which can handle at least 50,000 tonnes of asbestos besides other hazardous materials. "Nine hundred tonnes is nothing even if the ship comes uncleaned at Alang," Mr. Khatri said.

The authorities have provided necessary training to the Alang workers in handling the hazardous materials and arranged for adequate safety equipment. In addition, it has also planned "outsourcing" handling of the hazardous materials to some agencies having expertise in such jobs before handing the ship over to Alang.

But all the exercise will come into effect only after the Supreme Court issued the necessary directive for berthing ships carrying hazardous materials at Alang.

Following the Clemenceau controversy, the apex court appointed a 15-member committee of experts, including Central Government officials for reviewing the facilities at Alang.

The committee visited Alang on May 2 and 3 and, according to Mr. Khatri, expressed "satisfaction" over the facilities at Alang. The committee is expected to submit its report to the Supreme Court shortly after which it would issue a directive about the Blue Lady or any other ship carrying hazardous materials for breaking at Alang.

If cleared by the Court, the ship would also be required to secure clearance from the customs, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and other agencies involved.

"ALANG TODAY" internet portal

This internet portal is based on Alang And Sosiya Ship recycling Yard which is located around 50 km from the noted and important city BHAVNAGAR situated in the Gujarat State of INDIA. This is Asia’s largest and world’s one of the most important Ship Recycling Yard where various materials like Melting scrap, Cast Iron Scrap (Beed), Rolling Materials, Profile Plates, Marine Machinery, Marine Engine Sets, Diesel Generating Sets, Electric Motors and so many other items which are available in huge quantity of various qualities are mostly tested and certified by the world famous Lloyds Certifying Co. of England.

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MORE SHIPS EXPECTED FOR ALANG

AS PER THE INTERNATIONAL REPORTS, MORE SHIPS FOR DEMOLITION ARE EXPECTED FOR ALANG AS FREIGHT RATE FOR VLCC IS VERY DOWN. THE SHIPPING LINE BOOM SEEMS TO OVER NOW. PRESENTLY, ALANG & SOSIYA IS HAVING TOTAL 40 SHIP. ABOUT 10 MORE SHIP ARE EXPECTED TO BEACH IN THIS MONTH.

* Supply position of material

Supply position of material
Mandi Gobindgarh	Very Low
Bhavnagar	Good
Jaipur	Low
Indore	Very Low