Re: France/Norway/Blue Lady

Some years ago, I saw on TV a breaker's yard that may or may not have been 
Alang.

At that time, practically all the breaking was done with big hammers and 
steel wedges.  The men would find a weak spot on the upper part of the
hull 
and drive wedges in.  They would gradually cause big cracks in the
structure 
and the steel would be allowed to fall off under its own weight.  Safety 
precautions consisted of loud shouts!

They had a few oxy cutters for the harder parts, but they were used 
sparingly, as everything was done on a shoestring.  Things are probably 
better today, as scrap steel is more valuable.  Also, the Indian
government 
is taking more interest in the welfare of the workers.  They don't want to

lose the work to other countries that will do the work in an even more 
dangerous way.
-- 
Dave Gittins
Author of  Titanic: Monument and Warning.
http://users.senet.com.au/~gittins/Book.html