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By Shirish Nadkarni, Lloyd's List International

Credit for the change has been given to a new set of regulations implemented by the Gujarat Maritime Board of over the last four months in response to international criticism of the operation of the yards.

Environmental and employment groups have claimed the yards are unnecessarily dangerous for workers and cause severe pollution in the local region.

"The new regulations (see box), brought in on September 1 this year, have already had a significant impact on the manner in which business is carried out at Alang," said P N Roy Choudhury, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of the board. "Instead of a path of confrontation, as in the past, the shipbreakers have started moving on a path of compliance, since they have themselves seen the steep reduction in the death rate from 32 in 1999 to just 15 this year."

Alang has been repeatedly panned by environmental groups like Greenpeace as probably the world's least safe shipbreaking yard, where workers are ruthlessly exploited, and deaths are routine. The board has been trying to rid the yard of this stigma. The regulations were included in a memorandum of understanding between the authority and the shipbreakers. It included issues such as shipbreaking plots, beaching, permission for cutting, actual cutting operations, procedure for ships carrying toxic material, action to be taken in case of accidents and compensation for the next of kin of those killed or maimed.

"Alang is no longer the most dangerous business destination in the country," said Mr Choudhury. "Apart from the dropping of the death rate to 50%, accident rates have also shrunk by a comparable margin, as basic efforts are being made to avoid negligence."

According to the board chief, the accidents that occur at Alang are of two types. One common source of injury, and quite often death, is the unplanned movement of cranes; the other is falls during the demolition process.

"Shipbreaking is not a pretty sight, but the fact remains that India requires scrap as also employment generation," said Mr Choudhury. "Currently, if the industry is in a bad shape, it is not because of any black-listing of Alang by the international community, but because an insufficient number of ships are available for breaking, due to a boom in the shipping industry, especially in the second half of 2000."

Alang has been hit by severe competition from Chinese shipbreaking yards. Tankers, which would not be allowed at Alang because they carry toxic material, are readily accepted at Chinese yards. Although the Gujarat Maritime Board has been trying to keep the industry labour-intensive in order to generate more jobs, some of the methods employed are distinctly primitive.

"We are aware of this shortcoming, and would like to ensure that some sort of balance is struck between the manpower aspect and the induction of some technology that helps speed up the breaking process and reduces risk to life and limb," said Mr Choudhury.

Although not a pretty sight India needs its shipbreaking industry to generate employment.