The story
Alang's beach has a high tidal range and a gentle slope, so big ships can be run aground at high tide and cut up at low tide. The yard grew into the world's largest ship-breaking site, feeding steel re-rolling mills across Gujarat. Second-hand markets along the Alang-Trapaj road sell everything from ship furniture to engines.
In numbers
Alang-Sosiya has 183 ship-breaking plots with a total capacity of 4.5 million light displacement tonnes (April 2025).
World's largest shipbreaking yard sees sharp decline in ship dismantling (Marine Insight) · 2025113 ships were beached for dismantling in FY 2024-25, against a peak of 415 in FY 2011-12.
World's largest shipbreaking yard sees sharp decline in ship dismantling (Marine Insight) · 2025106 Alang-Sosiya yards had received Hong Kong Convention statements of compliance by December 2025; each yard spent between $0.56m and $1.2m on compliance.
'No work': India's Alang, the world's largest graveyard of ships, is dying (Al Jazeera) · 2025
Ways in for a newcomer
- Trading second-hand ship items along the Alang road
- Supplying re-rollable scrap to steel mills
- Safety training and PPE supply for yards
- Gas cutting and logistics services
Problems the cluster faces
- Fewer ships coming for recycling
- Competition from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey
- Worker safety and living conditions
- Environmental concerns about beach cutting
Businesses to start here
Metal Scrap Recycling Unit →Re-Refining of Used Lubricant Oil →Upcycled Furniture from Waste →