The prices of scrap-producing breakable ships surged sharply by $250 per light displacement tonnage (LTD) toreach at record level of $750 LTD in the international market during the last two weeks, hampering theworking pace of the local industry, ship breakers told Daily Times. Ship breakers attributed the higher prices of breakable ships to the increasing demand of the steel coupled with the high fuel oil in the prices during the last three months. President Pakistan Ship breakers’ Association, Azam Malik, told Daily Times that the purchase of the old breakable ships have been stopped in the country by the local ship breakers due to higher prices of ships’ selling companies.
Therefore, he added, the ship breaking activities have seen a decreasing trend in the country despite high local demand of steel scraps and billets. He further said that if more ships were not purchased by the next month, a large number of daily wagers would be unemployed. Presently, around 5,000 workers are earning their livelihood at Gaddani.
He further told that the supply of scrap to local steel re-rolling mills has witnessed decline, owing to the lack of scrap steel supplied by ship breaking industry.
Mr Malik further told that the country’s ship breakers are now waiting for expected prices decline in the global market so they could buy required number of ships to meet the local demand.
Since the beginning of the year, around 11 big vessels have been anchored at Gaddani Dockyard with accumulative weight of 30,000 LTD. The docked ships were including Japanese Shanti having 16,000 tonne weight and Japanese Pink-1 having 6,6145 tonne weight.
Ship breakers have set the target to produce around 500, 000 LTD steel scraps by the end of the years to cope with the local demand of one million LTD scrap steel in the country.
In 2007, Pakistan’s ship breaking industry generated 152,260 LTD steel and metal scraps through the dismantling of 34 ships at Gaddani.
Therefore, he added, the ship breaking activities have seen a decreasing trend in the country despite high local demand of steel scraps and billets. He further said that if more ships were not purchased by the next month, a large number of daily wagers would be unemployed. Presently, around 5,000 workers are earning their livelihood at Gaddani.
He further told that the supply of scrap to local steel re-rolling mills has witnessed decline, owing to the lack of scrap steel supplied by ship breaking industry.
Mr Malik further told that the country’s ship breakers are now waiting for expected prices decline in the global market so they could buy required number of ships to meet the local demand.
Since the beginning of the year, around 11 big vessels have been anchored at Gaddani Dockyard with accumulative weight of 30,000 LTD. The docked ships were including Japanese Shanti having 16,000 tonne weight and Japanese Pink-1 having 6,6145 tonne weight.
Ship breakers have set the target to produce around 500, 000 LTD steel scraps by the end of the years to cope with the local demand of one million LTD scrap steel in the country.
In 2007, Pakistan’s ship breaking industry generated 152,260 LTD steel and metal scraps through the dismantling of 34 ships at Gaddani.