Jiangyin Yangtze Vessel Strip Yard is reporting record business due to the continued downturn in the shipping market. The strip yard dissembled 44 vessels in the first quarter of 2009, with nine more in the process of being stripped. Another five vessels were scheduled to enter the yard by the end of May.

The vessels that have been taken to pieces were largely large bulk carriers, container carriers, ro-ro vessels and oil tankers from Europe and Japan. In normal circumstances they might have had another three to five years of service but they were withdrawn early because of severe lack of cargo in the international market and the high cost of anchoring and maintenance.

The Jiangyin yard in Jiangsu province currently has 11 teams working extra shifts to cope with the high workload. Local marine safety authorities have vowed to increase the number of inspections to the yard and tighten the monitoring of the entire stripping process to ensure that the booming business will not lead to any pollution.