A man named Rajubhai Kanubhai Baraya sits down in a dark blue leather chair in his furniture store in the city of Alang on the west coast of India. It is now almost noon, but it’s already +40 C outside, and the air is so dense from the heat that it is almost impossible to breathe. On the road leading to the coastline, where the largest shipyard in the world is located behind the security checkpoint, there are almost no cars and people. But trade here is in full swing.
Flea market "seven seas"
Surrounded by wooden doors, soft sofas and high chairs, Baraya talks about some of his goods. “This, ” he says, pointing to a dark brown sofa, and then bowing his head to one side, evaluating it, “I could possibly sell for 6, 000 rupees (5, 400 rubles).”
The sofa he points to is not new at all. Just like most other items in the company Baraiya Sahajanand Enterprises, a furniture store-flea market, whose goods are the contents of old and decommissioned ships from a nearby "cemetery". Baraya's store is one of dozens of second-hand stores on an almost 10-kilometer market, filled with goods of various colors: large and small, old and almost ancient, everyday and exotic. From doors and tea sets to mattresses, soft ice cream machines and lifebuoys. Rummaging around in some of these stores means stumbling on trinkets from commonplace to esoteric: light bulbs, speakers and analogue TVs, espresso machines, dartboard targets and ship models.
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To scrap
Gujarat's 1, 600-kilometer coastline is the longest of all the Indian states, and Alang's high tide and gentle approach make it ideal for ship dismantling. This shipyard is a kind of mass grave for almost 200 ships annually. And this despite criticism regarding working conditions, accidents and environmental damage. After the United States and European countries decided to push the shipbuilding industry into India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other third world countries, where salaries are not so high and environmental standards are just written down on paper, every day workers dismantle each ship using soldering irons, gas torches and hammers. Steel and iron are recycled, and some parts of the ship, including furniture, bedding and kitchenware from the living quarters, are sold in bulk.
Dumb auction
First, large dealers buy cabins, cabins, cabins and other ship's premises completely from companies. Then they call market grocers, such as Baraya, who look at the goods, entering and leaving the cabins, touching and checking furniture, doors, utensils and offering a reasonable price. At a "silent auction" retailers write on a piece of paper how much they are willing to pay. The one who pays the most wins. If it is a small ship, the auction may end in a few hours. If it is a cruise ship with hundreds of rooms, bidding may take several days.
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“Ship junk will last longer, so people like to buy it, ” says Baraya. “Local goods may be cheaper, but real experts prefer to buy from Alang’s ships.”
Established in 1983, the shipyard utilized nearly 8, 000 vessels, including cargo ships, oil tankers, and cruise liners. The shipyard utilized ships from Japan, Korea, Great Britain, the United States, Norway and Singapore, foreign ships carrying useful and very welcome foreign-made interiors.
Sprang up on its own
No one knows for sure when the market arose next to Alang Shipyard. Probably the first merchants appeared here in the mid-late 80s. All agree on only one thing: what used to be a small group of shops today has grown into a shopping boulevard 1.5 kilometers long. “This market is unique, ” says Nitin Kanakia, honorary secretary of the Shipbuilding Industry Association. “It is constantly growing and people come here from all over.”
Most stores in the Alanga market have their own specialization: furniture, bedding, scrap metal, kitchen equipment, and laundry devices. Shopping is a real lottery: you can come here without knowing what you want and find something bizarre and unusual.
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Merchants say
"The brands are all different, it all depends on the" nationality "of the ship, " says Arvind Baraya, who has been working in this business for about 26 years. Its warehouse is quite large and clogged with a mishmash of dryers, washing machines and other washing equipment. “Of course, we are bargaining, ” he says. “This is quite natural. This is not a fixed-price supermarket hall.” Prices here start at 5, 000 rupees (4, 500 rubles) and reach $ 1, 500.
“You have to repair a thing before you sell it, ” says Kapil Pandya, whose store is a little further down the road. “People love original things from ships. You can get new material anywhere.”
Before entering the store there are dusty signs with the words "Staircase", "Smoking Area" and "Safety First". There are first aid kits and large photographs in the frame. Their resale value is unclear, but they add surroundings to the warehouse, which is otherwise unremarkable.
Transition to Technology
Behind the bustle of the market, deep in the courtyard, Dzignesh Dave sits at his sturdy second-hand table and ponders his business plan. The skinny bespectacled Dave has been working in the computer business for 10 years and now hopes to occupy the niche of the currently unorganized online sales market. Amazon or Aliexpress, but only for Alang. “Today, even a small store has an app or a website, ” he says. “It's such a huge market, so why not make a digital version of it?”
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In early April, along with his cousin Chintan Dave, he launched the Alang SGold application, which is designed to help buyers and sellers find each other on the Internet. For several months, he talked with store owners and tried to convince them of the benefits of switching to digital technology. “Most people here live like in a village, ” he says. “They don’t understand simple things. It's hard to explain.” The application was downloaded by 267 users in the first 10 days, which is a good result.
Shop owners believe that trade has recently declined. They explain this regression by several reasons at once: the ongoing consequences of demonetization in 2016, when the government withdrew and later reissued valuable banknotes, the introduction of a new tax on goods and services and the reduction in the number of broken vessels. The number of decommissioned vessels peaked in 2011-2012 (414) compared with 253 in 2017-18.
