I’ve had the pleasure of
becoming friends with acclaimed cruise travel journalist and ocean liner
historian Peter Knego thanks to our shared travels and close proximity as
residents of San Diego, California.
He is a remarkable man who
has made it his life’s work to not only document the recycling of retired ships
but to preserve as many fixtures as possible from onboard.
As such, his home is a
treasure trove and museum of the former glories of vintage ocean liners and the
storied beginnings of the modern cruise industry. However, for those who can’t
visit in person, the next best thing is his wonderful documentary film, “On the
Road to Alang.”
In the movie, Knego visits
the city in India where he explains the “deep hunger for recycled steel”
spawned by economic growth despite impoverished conditions.
He describes Alang itself as
“both hellish and holy” for ship lovers and an opportunity to witness their
final days as they are literally broken up for raw materials. Several miles’
worth of small villages leading to the beach trade everything from life vests
to engine parts.
The beach, of course, is the
epicenter where the long gentle grade of the sand and changing tide levels make
it ideal for this kind of laborious work.
At high tide, ships are
grounded at full speed ahead before stripping begins at low tide. Passenger
vessels—at least the older ocean liner varieties—are more challenging to reach
closest to shore with their deeper drafts, requiring partial deconstruction
farther in the water and winching to get them nearer.
Knego is absolutely correct
in saying the Indians have, “made the process of recycling an art.” For someone
both mesmerized by ocean liners and abandoned places, Alang and the entire
ship-breaking process fascinates me. I’m sure it will interest anyone curious
about the history of the industry and just what happens to cruise ships when
they outlive their usefulness.
Passenger ships specifically
showcased in the documentary include Sun Lines’ former Stella Solaris flagship,
Premier Cruise Line’s Big Red Boat III, Commodore Cruise Line’s Enchanted Isle,
Empress Cruise Lines’ Mayan Empress, Cunard Line’s former Ivernia and Sylvania
sister-ships, Canadian Pacific’s original Empress of Canada and more.
Most detailed in the footage
are Sylvania, last the Albatros for Phoenix Reisen, and Empress of Canada, last
Apollon for Royal Olympic.
What’s perhaps most
remarkable is how many original fixtures and those installed during the course
of ships’ careers remain onboard all the way to the very last days. Many of the
Cunard-era interiors of the Sylvania were still intact including doors, stair
rails, cabinetry and wheelhouse equipment.
Meanwhile, Empress of Canada
once served as Carnival Cruise Line’s first cruise ship, Mardi Gras, and
retained its ocean liner maple leaf-etched glass as well as colorful Joe Farcus
screens.
Of course, from a sheer
mechanical standpoint, it’s wild to see how cuts are made down many decks that
are eventually broken up by larger blocks much in reverse of how cruise ships
are today assembled. One shot even shows a portion of Big Red Boat III’s deck
collapsing on itself as it is prepared to be broken down to nothing.
All of this leads to
everything from furniture and wall art to trash cans and modular bathrooms
being unceremoniously strewn about by merchants quick to sell all that
remains—much that Knego has thankfully shipped back to preserve and sell to
collectors through his midshipcentury.com website, where a DVD of the
documentary can be purchased.
Among the artifacts
documented and saved are master works by Italian painter Emanuele Luzzati taken
off of Sun Lines’ Stella Solaris and Stella Oceanis and melamine stair tower
panels by Italian production designer Enrico Paulucci.
The documentary even shows
how Knego received all of the various pieces and fixtures back in the States in
two large 40-foot shipping containers after waiting six to seven long months.
Then rounding out the hour-long footage is an intriguing history of many other
passenger ships that have gone to the breakers at Alang to sadly be scrapped.
Altogether, the film is a
wonderful look at a seldom seen segment of the cruise industry that is well
worth any ship buff’s time.
Source: travel
pulse. 28 July 2017
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