Ship dismantling booms after COVID-19 crushes sector
Could tearing apart cruise ships actually save the industry?
Business is booming at a sea dock in Aliaga on Turkey's west coast, where five cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal sales after lockdowns all but destroyed the industry.
In March, U.S. authorities issued a no-sail order for all cruise ships that remains in place.
But on Friday (October 2), dozens of workers stripped walls, windows, floors and railings from several vessels.
Three more ships are set to join those already being dismantled.
Kamil Onal is chairman of the ship recycling industrialists' association.
He says they're turning the crisis into an opportunity for growth.
"Dismantling of a ship takes 6 months. 100 workers work on each ship and also not only steel of the cruise ship but also the furniture, sofas, chairs, kitchen equipment are also being sold so we add value to our economy. Lots of hotel firms, are now in our establishment to buy those things."
Onal says the shipyard is aiming to increase the volume of dismantled steel to 1.1 million tonnes by the end of the year, from 700,000 tonnes in January.
