♪♪ This is where ships in the Great Lakes come to die.
From freighters like the one behind me to ferries this yard has been the final resting place
for over 100 vessels.
The Ojibway, measuring more than 600 feet long and 67 feet wide spent nearly 70 years navigating
the lakes.
Soon to be on the chopping block, the S.T.CREPA.
A nearly century old and the MANASTEE a bulk carrier arriving by tow in 2022 from Ohio.
Their final destination, marine recycling corporation.
27 acres of land riddled with pieces of Great Lakes history.
This is the main yard for Ontario's only year-round ship breaking company.
Situated in port Colborne, Ontario, marine recycling corporation sits near the mouth
of the welland canal, a busy stretch of water way that connects ships from Lake Erie to
Lake Ontario.
>> there is the Ojibway wheel house we're driving by.
In the spring it will go on a barge.
It's going to be a cottage I guess for someone.
>> Jeyan: Wayne Elliott is a ship breaker and has been doing it for more than half a century.
>> we recycle old ships of all types, warships, freighters, tugs, barges, submarine's.
We've recycled actually pretty much everything except an aircraft carrier.
>> Jeyan: Amongst the names of the famous vessels he recycled a few stand out.
>> Henry Ford II.
That was a very popular ship.
The mules and people.
The Henry STEINBRENNER named after the former Yankees owner George STEINBRENNER, named after
his father.
>> Jeyan: There are two ways vessels can arrive.
Most like the S.C.CREPO are towed by tug boats while others steam in on their own power.
It can take several months for a freighter like Ojibway to end up looking like this.
>> the process generally starts with cutting torches.
Parts of the ship that are too high for the sheers to reach to start with.
And a lifting of heavy machinery and engines that are not sheered.
There are many dangers.
It's a dangerous business.
We're lifting sections of ships up to 100 tons.
And on top of it, they're not new ships so we have to be very careful that lifts won't care
tear.
Yeah, it just has to be safety first.
>> Jeyan: Marine recycling corporation collects portholes, lights and other scraps from the
ships but the main haul is steel.
The steel is chewed up into tiny pieces and loaded on to dump trucks where they're shipped to
local steel mills in Southern Ontario.
Many of the ships Wayne and his team recycle have been on the open waters for decades.
For the most Partito Democratico this yard recycles ships that have spent the majority of their
time navigating the St.
Lawrence and Great Lakes seaway.
Lakers can remain in service much longer than ocean liners known as "salties."
The corrosive sea water creates a shorter lifespan.
But with decades of service comes decades of build up.
>> when a ship arrives under its own power.
It has fuel, lubricating oils, waste oils.
It has all of that aboard.
That's the first order of business.
>> Jeyan: In North America, the environment wasn't always as protected as it is now.
Wayne has seen the changes firsthand in the three generations his family has been
in the industry.
>> my dad started working in Hamilton at a shipyard in 1959.
I remember as a kid believe it or not they used to burn the ships out to get rid of the
furnishings.
And even back to the 60s there was no environmental protection act until 1970.
Interest were no rules.
So I could remember my dad in Hamilton, the fire chief and the deputy chief were friends as
well.
And he would call the chief, the deputy and say, okay, the wind is calling toward the sky way
bridge, okay to light this up?
And they would burnout the accommodation section of ships.
They used to burn copper in those days and I always remembered the horrible taste in
my throat.
>> Jeyan: Wayne estimates that 95% of the ship breaking industry contributes to
pollution.
And it's not just dirty work.
It also comes with its risks.
Globally, ship breaking has been described as the world's most dangerous job.
In parts of south Asia.
That title holds true.
According to NGO ship breaking platform, a global collective that monitors environmental harm
and human rights abuses, more than 7,000 ships have been scrapped in south area since
2009.
Causing 441 deaths and 384 injuries.
>> they use a bleaching method where the back end and the stern of the ship which has many of
the pollutants, that the machinery spaces, the oil.
They're the last thing to be recycled.
>> Jeyan: Even with three other shipyards on coast lines Elliott says his biggest competitors are
still on the other side of the ocean.
>> we're really against towing these lake vessels across the Atlantic ocean.
At one point it was about one out of every 20 wouldn't make it.
You know, you can imagine the potential for an accident.
It's very difficult to compete when you are the opposite of that.
And -- but, you know, so far so good.
>> Jeyan: At one point Elliott estimates there are about half a dozen on the Great Lakes but for
the last 20 years they've been the only ship breaking company in Canada.
>> and it's a difficult business.
On top of everything, it's a gamble.
I remember one year we brought a ship in late January and February 1st, the price of
steel scrap dropped $85 a ton.
But we were out $1 million before we touched the ship.
That's the worst part.
>> Jeyan: Despite the challenges that come with ship breaking, Wayne doesn't see themselves
stopping anytime soon.
>> the most experienced ship breakers in the world -- kind of proud of that.
It's a family tradition.
It's what we do.
We're the best at it.
We -- I love the ships.
I always did.