Alang-Sosiya, on the Bhavnagar coast of Gujarat, India, is the world's largest ship recycling destination, handling roughly one-third of global end-of-life tonnage. Its ten-metre tidal range allows large vessels to be beached on a high tide and dismantled on sand plots. More than 130 yards operate here, with a rising share now holding Statements of Compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention.
General – Alang, Bhavnagar & Our Operations
Our operations desk runs 24/7, 365 days a year. Vessel arrivals, beaching windows and crew movements rarely respect office hours, so we keep duty officers on call for every active vessel. Administrative functions — quotations, disbursement accounts, documentation — operate Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 18:30 IST. Out-of-hours requests for active calls are acknowledged within 30 minutes and actioned immediately.
Our shore staff and seagoing agents are fluent in English, Hindi and Gujarati. Several team members handle business correspondence in Arabic, and we have working knowledge of Bengali, Tamil and Marathi for crew handling. All written communication with principals, masters and Class is in English. For non-English-speaking crews we coordinate translators for sign-on, sign-off and immigration formalities at Bhavnagar and Alang.
Beyond Alang Ship Recycling Yard and Bhavnagar Port, we serve Pipavav, Mundra, Hazira, Sikka, Magdalla, Dahej, Jamnagar, Veraval, Porbandar, Kandla and Okha along the Gujarat coast, plus JNPT Nhava Sheva and Mumbai on the west coast. We can also organise sub-agency at Chennai, Vizag, Paradip, Krishnapatnam, Tuticorin, Cochin and Kolkata through trusted partner offices, giving owners single-point coordination across India.
Yes. Ocean Star Shipping carries professional indemnity and commercial general liability cover with a reputable Indian marine insurer, plus errors and omissions cover for agency negligence. Cash to Master movements are additionally protected by bank transit insurance. Vessel-specific covers — pollution, wreck removal, hull and machinery — remain with the owner or P&I club, and we coordinate local correspondents wherever required by the principal.
Beaching & Recycling at Alang
Beaching at Alang is a one-shot manoeuvre on the highest spring tide of the cycle. After GMB beaching permission, the owner provides final draft, propeller pitch and astern power. A licensed beaching pilot boards offshore, lines the vessel up perpendicular to the allotted plot, and at the tide peak drives her on at full power. See our dedicated beaching pilotage service for the full operational scope.
Every vessel arriving for recycling at Alang must hold a valid Inventory of Hazardous Materials, prepared by an IHM expert and verified by a recognised organisation. The IHM, together with the Ship Recycling Plan from the buying yard, is submitted to the Gujarat Maritime Board for beaching approval. We coordinate IHM surveyors, support owners through verification, and liaise with the yard to align the Ship Recycling Facility Plan.
A growing number of Alang yards hold Statements of Compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, issued by Class societies such as IRClass, ClassNK, RINA, Lloyd's Register and DNV. India has ratified the Convention, and we recommend HKC-compliant yards for owners with EU customers, Class requirements or internal ESG policies on green ship recycling and responsible end-of-life disposal.
Plots are allocated by the Gujarat Maritime Board to licensed yard owners, not directly to shipowners or cash buyers. Once a yard has purchased a vessel, it nominates its plot in the Beaching Application together with vessel particulars, the IHM and the Ship Recycling Plan. We assist owners and cash buyers in matching tonnage to a plot of appropriate width, drag and frontage, and in confirming readiness before beaching.
For demolition delivery we coordinate the Memorandum of Agreement closing pack, Class deletion and cancellation, flag deletion, IHM, Ship Recycling Plan, anchorage permission, NOCs from Customs, Immigration and the DG Shipping, GMB beaching permission, master's protests, bunker survey, ROB statements, garbage and waste declarations, final crew sign-off and yard handover protocol. All originals are countersigned by the master and held in the principal's file.
Yes. The IMO number is the immutable reference for every clearance — anchorage permission, Customs entry, GMB beaching application, Class deletion, flag deletion and yard handover. We cross-check the IMO number on the hull, the Continuous Synopsis Record and the Certificate of Registry before submission. For vessels that have changed name or flag during the final voyage, we file the change history with the original IMO as the anchor reference.
Port Agency, Chandling & Crew
Port agency at Alang and Bhavnagar is quoted as an itemised disbursement account: agency fee, statutory dues, pilotage, tugs, customs, immigration, transport and incidentals. For a typical demolition delivery, agency fees range from approximately USD 3,500 to USD 7,500 depending on vessel size and scope. A pro-forma DA is issued before arrival, the final DA on departure or beaching. Full pricing for our port agency services is shared on enquiry.
Our IMPA-coded ship chandling service covers deck, engine, cabin and provisions stores, technical spares, safety items, charts and publications, mooring ropes, bonded stores and freshwater. We deliver to vessels at Bhavnagar OPL anchorage, alongside at Pipavav, Mundra and Hazira, and to beached vessels inside Alang plots. Urgent items can normally be delivered the same day from our Bhavnagar warehouse against a pre-approved requisition.
For sign-on we need a passport with at least six months validity, valid Indian e-visa or seafarer visa, Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC), STCW certificates, yellow fever and medical certificates as applicable, employer letter and a confirmed flight booking. For sign-off we collect the seaman's book, master's sign-off letter and CIQP clearance. All movements follow MLC 2006 — full details on our crew transfer service.
On every call we obtain or coordinate No Objection Certificates from Customs, Immigration, the Port Health Officer and Coast Guard where required, plus the Gujarat Maritime Board for beaching at Alang. For dangerous cargo or bunkering we additionally arrange MMD (Mercantile Marine Department) clearance. NOCs are compiled as a single PDF pack delivered to the master before departure or beaching, with originals filed against the disbursement account.
Vessel Customs formalities — entry inwards, IGM filing, stores list approval, sealing and unsealing of bonded lockers, crew baggage declarations and entry outwards — are handled directly by our shipping officer. For inbound chandling, spares and provisions, we work through our CHA partner under Sections 87 and 88 of the Customs Act, securing duty-free vessel supply where eligible. Cargo Customs is offered through our Import & Export Solutions desk.
Standard statutory dues include port dues, pilotage, anchorage charges, light dues, GMB recycling cess at Alang, immigration and Customs fees, and where applicable berth hire and stevedoring. GST applies on agency fee, chandling, transport and most local services at 18 percent, recoverable by Indian principals against a valid GSTIN. Inland transport, hotel and crew incidentals carry their own GST slabs, all itemised line-by-line in the disbursement account.
Working With Ocean Star Shipping
Appointment is by a Letter of Appointment from the owner, operator or charterer addressed to Ocean Star Shipping, naming the vessel, voyage and agency scope. We acknowledge with a pro-forma disbursement account and request initial funds against the pro-forma. For demolition deliveries we also accept appointment from the cash buyer with the owner's written consent. Repeat principals can sign a master agency agreement covering multiple calls.
We invoice in USD or INR. Standard terms for a port call are 100 percent of the pro-forma DA in advance of vessel arrival, with the final DA reconciled and settled within 30 days of departure. For demolition deliveries the agency fee is normally split 50 percent on appointment and 50 percent on beaching. Cash to Master is fully funded in advance. Payments are received by SWIFT, NEFT or RTGS.
Any dispute is first addressed through commercial discussion between the principal and our management. If unresolved, the matter is referred to arbitration under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, with Bhavnagar as seat and English as the language of the proceedings. Marine claims may also be referred to the Maritime Arbitration Committee of the Indian Council of Arbitration. Our contracts are governed by Indian law.
We coordinate flag deletion, deletion certificates and Class cancellation as part of demolition delivery, working with the existing flag administration and Class society. For live-trade tonnage we can introduce reputable flag registries and recognised organisations, but we are not a flag-state agent. New registrations under the Indian flag follow Directorate General of Shipping procedure; we support owners with documentation, surveys and local representation as required.