Breaking Ships [Hardcover]

Roland Buerk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2006

Asbestos, explosives, and chemical waste are only a few of the hazards involved in the meticulous work of destroying a giant ship. When new labor laws and environmental standards came to Europe, the ship-breaking industry moved to places like Chittagong on the coast of Bangladesh-places where the lives of workers seem expendable, and the environment is someone else's problem.

Breaking Ships follows the demise of the Asian Tiger, a ship destroyed at one of the twenty ship-breaking yards along the beaches of Chittagong. BBC Bangladesh correspondent Roland Buerk takes us through the process-from beaching the vessel to its final dissemination, from wealthy shipyard owners to poverty-stricken ship cutters, and from the economic benefits for Bangladesh to the pollution of its once pristine beaches.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

BBC correspondent Buerk takes the Upton Sinclair route to chronicling the six-month process of disassembling a 38,000-ton oil tanker on the beaches of Bangladesh. He's sympathetic toward workers' plights (the work, as readers are constantly reminded, is backbreaking, and the slums are wretched) and disdainful of the fatcats who, "even in the low season, do well." Each worker profiled is worse off than the previous, though all are ensnared in a relentless cycle of poverty, while wealthy merchants chuckle and talk on cell phones as they bid on materials salvaged from the ships (by bleeding, sweating workers who earn a dollar a day). Buerk's picked a fascinating subject, but readers may be put off by his soapboxing.
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About the Author

Roland Buerk is a BBC reporter stationed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Buerk survived the 2004 tsunami, and broadcast the first eyewitness accounts, which were repeated on television stations across the world. He currently covers the news climate in Bangladesh for the BBC, following such issues as Islamic militancy, human rights, and the political and economic conditions of the country. He has also written for The Times (London), the Economist, and the Financial Times.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chamberlain Bros. (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596090367
• ISBN-13: 978-1596090361
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > History > Asia > Bangladesh

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done and unusual, August 5, 2006

By 

Konrad Baumeister - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Ships (Hardcover)

Buerk follows the "death" and dismemberment of the giant ship Asian Tiger from beaching to the sale of the last nut or bit of insulation, a process of some months. The story of how Bangladesh became a market for this type of work (which now supplies steel for domestic uses while the world price rises every day), the devastating impact on the environment, and the ambiguous cost/benefit to the workers are all dealt with. Buerk interviews all types of people involved in the industry and project, including the captain beaching the vessel, the business family running the project, various labor subcontractors, workers of varying skill (and pay) level, still poorer villagers in the north who desperately wish to get the backbreaking jobs on the beach, vendors on the roadside hawking products pulled off the boat, even steel mill operators taking in the steel and sending it on for recycled use as rebar in the cities. Throughout, the author is sympathetic to the men in each position, and recognizes that while the work is probably some of the worst in the world and pays terribly, still for the average Bangladeshi it appears to be preferably to no work and starvation. A number of b&w photos add significantly to the book. By the time the ship is largely gone, new ships have appeared on shore. For the workers it is a grinding life, but it seems to be the only life they have. Recommended read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast, interesting read, April 23, 2006

By 

Jake McKee (Austin, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Ships (Hardcover)

This book is short, but it's wonderful to have a complete and quick overview on the subject. I completely enjoyed the book, and was done in two days. The author does a great job of sharing some facts, but mostly painting a picture. It felt more like a textual version of a photo essay.

That's the rub for me... while the book had many photos, they were all in black and white. Had they been in color, and maybe even a few more included, I would have absolutely rated 5 stars. Maybe in the second edition (because I'm confident the book will be well received enough to have a second printing!)

Overall, solid purchase.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, July 14, 2006

By 

Luke Parker (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Ships (Hardcover)

Follows the path of one ship as it is broken up and destroyed. Provides a good overview into the ship breaking industry, but a little short of hard facts.

By no means a heavy read; The author has worked at the Economist and that style of writing comes through. Some good photos included.

If you are into scrap metal, shiping or construction, you'll probably enjoy this.