this is the end of the line.

Because of the pandemic, Carnival, Costa,

and Pullmantur cruise lines have all sent ships

to western Turkey for demolition.

Here, there'll be ripped to shreds deck by deck

and sold for parts.

But dismantling a ship that holds 2,000 passengers?

Well, that's ...

One of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Narrator: Ship-breakers saw off massive sections

of the hull and move them overhead.

There's millions of dollars' worth of parts at stake,

but any misstep could mean injury

or hurting the environment.

And it's only gotten harder with lots of new arrivals.

We take you inside the yard

turning these floating hotels into this.

Before the pandemic, the Aliaga ship-breaking yards

were pretty quiet.

Normally, the 22 yards only demolished

a few dozen cargo ships a year.

But when the pandemic wrecked the cruising industry,

more and more cruise ships ended up here.

After losing more than $4 billion in the second quarter

of 2020, Carnival Cruise Lines decided

it was more affordable to sell its old ships for parts

than try to keep them operating.

Aliaga will be the last stop for Carnival's Inspiration,

Imagination, and Fantasy ships.

Captains navigate the cruise liners from the US,

UK, and Italy.

They coordinate with the harbormaster to beach ships.

Nicola: Then the whole front of the vessel is grounded

on the shore while the stern still floats.

Emre Aras: We plan how we cut the vessels

together with our technical department.

Narrator: Then 2,500 ship-breakers set out

to remove any valuable material.

Emre: There are very expensive navigational equipment

at breach side.

Narrator: Working one deck at a time,

crews take out all the furniture, mostly by hand.

We're talking everything from chairs, tables, and pianos

to light fixtures and beds.

Emre: I can easily say that cruise vessels

are the hardest vessel type to dismantle because, you know,

there are hundreds of rooms on board.

Narrator: Then they move onto amenities,

dismantling gyms, pools, and theaters.

Stripping walls, windows, floors, and handrails is next.

This is where lots of saws and blowtorches come in.

Nicola: Workers risk daily falling from great heights,

inhaling toxic gases during cutting operations,

being hit by falling objects.

And the blowtorch comes with fire hazards.

Emre: They are working in very high degrees under the sun

in summertimes, or they are working in very extreme

conditions in wintertime.

Narrator: Since October 2022, two workers have died

from falling objects.

Emre: The vessel lies on water,

so there is not any way for the ambulance to reach

in case of emergency situations.

Narrator: Despite these injuries,

working conditions in Aliaga

are better than those of the world's

biggest ship-breaking yards.

Nicola: In South Asia, in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan,

where most of the end-of-life vessels end up every year,

dozens of people die or get injured in the process.

Narrator: Those yards in South Asia

use the dangerous gravity method.

Nicola: That is dropping huge blocks into the water

onto the beach.

Narrator: But in Turkey, workers lift ship parts

with a massive crane.

Emre: Which has a 2,000-ton capacity

in our shore site, and we cut big blocks at the vessel.

And by using this huge crane, we take these big blocks

at our secondary cutting zone.

Narrator: Aliaga hasn't always had the safest yards.

In the late '90s, Turkey was just as bad as South Asia.

But in 2002, Greenpeace released a report

that revealed the unsafe work conditions here,

and the world took notice.

Nicola: As a reaction to this international criticism,

things have improved considerably.

Narrator: Things got even safer in 2018

when some Aliaga yards started complying

with the European Union ship-breaking regulation.

That's why Carnival chose two yards here

for its end-of-life ships.

Those EU guidelines have also raised the standards

for environmental practices.

Every cruise ship has dozens of toxins hidden inside.

Things like asbestos in pipes, heavy metals in paints,

biological hazards from sewage tanks, radioactive material

from gauges, and the list goes on.

Left unchecked, they can seep into the soil, beach, and water,

where they've destroyed local marine habitats

and water systems around ship-breaking yards before.

But because of these new regulations, Aliaga got newer

and better drainage systems and cement floors

in the secondary cutting area so workers weren't cutting

ship parts on open beach.

They also got new oil booms for containing oil spills,

a new waste management center for properly disposing

of those toxins in the ship,

and a better asbestos removal process.

Nicola: Practices have improved, but there are still

concerns related to the long-term impact on the health

of the workers due to exposure to toxic substances.

Narrator: Nicola says many workers

aren't aware of these risks,

and the rest choose the job anyway because of the high pay.

After the ship is demolished,

this is all that's left.

While the whole process takes six months for a cargo ship,

it takes a lot longer for a cruise ship.

Emre: Almost one year, maybe more.

Narrator: Workers move everything pulled off the ships

into separate piles: electronics, light fixtures, textiles,

furniture, glass, and machinery.

Buyers interested in cruise memorabilia

claim the life jackets, art, and maps from antique sellers.

But what about all that metal?

In 2020, Omil estimates workers pulled over

a million tons of steel off cruise ships here,

and that will all be recycled.

Nicola: Recycling steel instead of mining

the raw materials reduces, definitely, energy requirements

and the carbon footprint.

Narrator: It's estimated scrap metal from one ship

could pull in around $4 million in profit

for the ship-breaking association.

Emre: You can make good money because

there are lots of things on board for secondhand sales.

Narrator: Demolishing these bigger ships

has led to larger profits

and a growing workforce for Aliaga shipyards.

Narrator: But as ship-breaking booms,

it comes on the heels of a crumbling cruise industry.