Alang shuts down for a day over arrest of ship-breakers

The SRIAI had opposed the arrest of owners of Kiran Ship Breaking Company and the managers

Asia's largest ship breaking yard, Alang in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, remained closed on Friday as protest against the arrest of three ship-breakers in connection with death of six labourers last week after blast in a oil tanker that was being dismantled there.

The Ship Recycling Industries Association India (SRIAI) had opposed the arrest of owners of Kiran Ship Breaking Company R K Jain and V K Jain along with manager of the firm Rajesh Jugud. They own the plot 82, where the Portuguese tanker in which the accident took place was being dismantled. Five persons had died on the spot, while one died in the hospital during treatment. One more injured person was recuperating in the hospital.

The Association was opposed to the sections under which the three arrested yesterday, were charged. Those arrested have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligent conduct with respect to fire.

"This is not the first incident when a ship-breaker has been arrested for an accident on his plot. But we are opposed to the IPC section under which they have been charged for the present incident," SRIAI, president, Vishnu Gupta said.

He said that previously the ship-breakers were charged for negligence and not culpable homicide. "We are opposed to their charging them for culpable homicide," Gupta said, adding that the association has also submitted memorandum to the district collector and superintendent of police demanding that the charges of culpable homicide be dropped against the owners.

Meanwhile, work at Alang ship breaking yard came to a stand-still on Friday following the call for bandh by SRIAI. Though not incidents of violence was reported from the ship breaking yard, a team of over 50 policemen headed by a DySP was stationed in the yard as precaution.

Ship breaking yard at Alang had recorded highest number of ships, 415, for breaking during fiscal ended March 31, 2012 with the 38.60 million tonnes of light ton displacement or LDT against 28.20 million tonnes LDT recorded in 2010-11, according to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).

According to an industry estimate, over 100 ship breaking companies are active in Alang and turnover of the industry is about Rs 10,000 crore per year.