ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on 'waste mobilities' – i.e., on the mobilities of the 'waste-resource' ship and the associated socio-economic and ecological impacts within the Pakistani ship-breaking industry. It analyses an existing literature and reports of relevant organizations, results from a standardised survey of workers at Gadani Beach, as well as observations of several plots and interviews with stake-holders in Pakistan in 2013/2014. The dynamic of the demolition market, including the ship-breaking activities, depends on various economic factors at several levels. Global economic crises, such as the financial crisis in 2008, have direct and indirect influence on the ship-breaking industry, short-term and medium-term. Dynamics on the macro-level – the world economy – serve as an external actor for the demolition market and influence decisions on the micro-level between ship owner and ship breaker. Ship-owner decisions are based on economic efficiency; they are motivated by the fact that freight rates defray the costs of running expenses.
