The 50-km drive from the district centre of Bhavnagar
to the maritime graveyard at the AlangSosiya Ship Recycling Yard is bumpy and
unpleasant. But for a few years now, this road has witnessed a growing stream
of bargain hunters from all over India on an unlikely shopping expedition.
When a ship dies, it doesn't receive a dignified burial.
It is taken apart to the every last valuable ounce of metal, and recycled. The
process entails consequences to the environment.
But along the long road that leads to Alang, a
cottage industry has sprung up, selling every reusable part found in a ship,
ranging from furniture to crockery, carpets, consumer goods such as television
sets and refrigerators and all kinds of knick-knacks. These represent a bargain
for their low cost and typical high quality- ship makers generally use
top-notch equipment to minimise repairs during the product's lifecycle.
Because of the bargains to be unearthed, and because
goods that are not commonly found elsewhere can be bought here, the place
attracts hoteliers, factory owners, art collectors (see box), home makers and
others who come looking for the remains of a vessel.
"Ship builders and owners do not take chance
with quality of products they use and install on board. Anything that comes on
ship has to be capable of performing in any marine conditions and also meet
some of the global regulatory provisions," says Vimal Vaja, whose Harsh
Traders sells kitchen appliances.
Kitchen equipment makers use much better grade of
steel to cater to the marine business, Vaja says. Utensils, refrigerators,
coffee makers, sandwich grillers, platforms, hotplates, dish washers, steam
cattle, vegetable cutting machines, soda makers, dough makers and ice cube makers
used in ships all have very robust build and are sought after by the
hospitality sector.
Nearly a thousand shops dotting the main road sell
used goods. There is no guarantee, but there is a bargain to be driven at every
store. Many goods-especially electronics and home appliances-can be of very
high quality, and feature designs not commonly seen in India. This is true also
for furniture, carpets and other such household items. Boats, gym equipment,
video games, navigation equipment, machine parts, tools and heavy machinery are
also found in abundance.
This has turned Alang into a hot destination for
small businesses. Factory owners from industrial centres such as Jalandhar,
Noida, Chennai, Hyderabad and Coimbatore come here looking for used diesel
generator sets, motors, welding equipment, turbo chargers, oil purifier, heat
exchangers, cooling towers, navigational safety equipment and other such
industrial products.
Toothpicks to TV Sets
Traders dealing in different products visit the
vessel once the ship breaker is through with clearances from customs, the
pollution control board and the maritime board. Traders negotiate with ship
breakers for the entire cache of goods in their category.
Payments are made within a month of delivery that
comes in phases once workers start dismantling the ship. Over the years,
traders have become highly specialised and many boast a loyal clientele that
come from afar to buy from them. Girish Dave of Bhagwati Traders is among the
earliest entrants in the trade and owns a shop close to the yard. "I used
to deal only in furniture when my shop was in the beginning of the market
outside of ship breaking yard.
Source: economic times.
By Mitul Thakkar. 01 December 2012
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-12-01/news/35529067_1_ship-breakers-bargain-hunters-alangsosiya
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