Exim News Service reported that the global meltdown is proving to be a major blessing for ship breakers as it is booming with the crash in prices of ships sold as scrap.

With the shipping industry in a crisis and laying up ships because of the meltdown, more of the vessels are being found fit only for the scrap yard.

Mr Nikhil Gupta President of the Alang Ship Breakers’ Association added that Alang is the preferred choice.

According to industry sources, 750 ships are available for breaking in the international market. If things go well, Alang could sell 2.5 million tonne of scrap in 2009 valued at INR 5,000 crore as against its capacity of 4 million tonne per annum.