Shipbreaking in Canada

Most people only hear about shipbreaking in reference to Alang, India or Chittagong, Bangladesh and the pictures of men working amongst the beached hulks.

Canada, however, has a major shipbreaking yard in Port Colborne, Ontario at the southern end of the Welland Canal.

http://www.marinerecycling.ca/

With facilities in Canada, it is hard to fathom how it can be more economical to tow ships half way around the world to be broken up when, in theory, owners are still required to comply with all the environmental regulations regarding removal of hazardous substances on a ship before it is dismantled.

Even though it is good for the environment to recycle the thousands of tonnes of steel and other materials from a ship, it is somewhat sad to pass these former vessels as they slowly vanish.

This small red-hulled vessel who hasn't yet met her fate is the former CCGS Verendrye. She spent many years sailing out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario before being decommissioned and sold over twenty years ago. Since then, she has hung around various locations on the Lakes before coming to her final resting place in Port Colborne.