S.S. Norway (ex-France): Will a ship breaker LOSE A FORTUNE on this ship?

It is clear that the S.S. Norway/France will not be scrapped at either Alang (India) or Chittagong (Bangladesh) due to environmental concerns.

Currently, the most likely site for scrapping is Karachi, assuming the Pakistani authorities don’t turn her away as well.

It should be remember that the last large liner to be scrapped at Karachi, the former P&O SS Canberra, was rumored to have been a major money loser for the ship breaker – and SS Canberra sold for less than half of the SS Norway’s $12USD million price!

It was reported that beach at Karachi (Gadani) had too steep an angle for the proper beaching of the SS Canberra, even at low tide, and she ended up to far out. Needless to say, the SS Norway has a far deeper draft and is far longer – in fact she was the longest passenger ship in the world until the QM2 came into service. It will be just about impossible to properly beach the completely unpowered SS Norway.

The biggest problem is that SS Norways hull plates can’t be processed in an economic manner. No two plates have precisely the same dimensions. Every hull plate appears to vary in thickness – and not just from plate to plate, but from one end of the plate to the other! Good luck in re-rolling that steel!

More to the point, the original SS France was built to what I might describe as “warship standards.” The complexity of materials and strutures is far greater than you’d find in a modern ship. Doesn’t anyone remember what money losers some former Soviet warships became for their breakers? If materials lists exist (which I doubt) there will be still be plenty of nasty surprises.

Did I forget to mention reports of 1,250 tons of asbestos? The poor old Clemenceau was turned away over a matter of 30 tons.

I wish the SS Norway’s scrap merchant the best of luck in his next profession: beggar.