Asbestos- Anger and Aliağa: British Warship Spurs Toxic Debate in Turkey
HMS Bristol En Route to Aliağa Sparks Protests Over Hazardous Waste Handling
By Staff Correspondent
1 July 2025 | Turkey
As Turkey consolidates its status as Europe’s preferred shipbreaking hub, growing public and environmentalist dissent is highlighting the toxic costs of this booming industry. The latest flashpoint is the controversial dismantling of HMS Bristol, a former British Royal Navy warship, which is currently en route to Turkey’s Aliağa port for scrapping.
The decommissioned naval vessel left Portsmouth, UK, on 11 June and is expected to arrive in İzmir’s Aliağa district on 3 July. The ship, which served in the Falklands War and NATO exercises during the Cold War before being decommissioned in 2020, is laden with hazardous materials including asbestos, heavy metals, and petroleum derivatives. The Turkish shipbreaking firm LEYAL, which won the contract with the highest bid, is tasked with the dismantling.
However, not everyone in Turkey is welcoming the ship.
Environmental Alarm Bells
Local residents and environmental groups, most notably İzmir Yaşam Alanları (Izmir Living Spaces), have issued a strong statement condemning the government’s willingness to import toxic waste under the guise of industrial development. “Turkey, along with Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, is being used as the dumping ground for toxic ships. Europe prefers Turkey due to its proximity, but also because of cheap labor and lax environmental laws,” the statement read.
Activists are particularly concerned about the continued use of the “beaching” method in Aliağa — a controversial dismantling practice in which ships are driven ashore and dismantled directly on the coast. This method, now banned across the European Union, is still legal in Turkey and is widely used in its 22 active shipbreaking yards. Critics argue that this allows toxic materials to leak into both the sea and the soil, posing a grave environmental and health threat.
“This method, which is not permitted under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, still flourishes in Aliağa,” the group said. “It leads to irreversible pollution and long-term damage to ecosystems.”
Legal and International Scrutiny
According to the Basel Convention, to which Turkey has been a party since 1994, ships containing hazardous waste are classified as toxic waste. Therefore, their import is subject to strict oversight and requires permits from national authorities. While the UK has asserted it complies with international obligations by documenting waste and requesting photographic proof of safe dismantling, environmentalists argue that such assurances are merely theoretical.
“The current conditions in Aliağa make it impossible to verify or enforce safety and environmental standards,” said İzmir Yaşam Alanları. “Damage to nature and our living spaces cannot be measured in financial terms. Every living being has the right to exist. Whoever used the ships should be responsible for dismantling them.”
The group has demanded the immediate closure of all 22 shipbreaking facilities in Aliağa.
Dismantling by the Numbers
Despite such concerns, Turkey’s shipbreaking industry continues to expand. With 22 active facilities, the country ranks third globally in number of ships dismantled and fourth in terms of gross tonnage, according to the 2024 report by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Last year alone, Turkey dismantled 84 ships, totaling 476,303 gross tonnage.
Among the dismantled vessels in 2024 was a ship from Israel — further underscoring Turkey’s appeal to foreign shipowners seeking cost-effective dismantling options outside the EU’s strict environmental regulations.
Human Cost of Dismantling
The industry’s toll on human lives is also raising serious alarms. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Council, at least 97 workers have died in Aliağa’s shipbreaking yards between 2013 and 2022. Workers are often exposed to highly toxic substances such as asbestos without adequate protective equipment, safety training, or medical support.
In addition to fatalities, many workers suffer from long-term respiratory illnesses and skin conditions resulting from continuous exposure to hazardous materials. Labor unions have long demanded better safety enforcement, though tangible improvements remain limited.
Public Power: A Precedent
This is not the first time public outcry has shaken the shipbreaking industry in Turkey. In 2022, a similar controversy erupted when the Brazilian aircraft carrier Nae Sao Poulo, loaded with asbestos, was bound for Aliağa. A wave of protests from environmental groups, political parties, and municipalities forced the Turkish government to deny the ship entry. The vessel was ultimately barred from entering the Strait of Gibraltar, setting a powerful precedent for citizen-led environmental action.
Activists are now hoping for a repeat of that victory.
“Once again, Turkey is being treated as Europe’s scrapyard,” said a spokesperson from İzmir Yaşam Alanları. “We will not allow our seas and communities to be poisoned for profit.”
A Toxic Trade-Off
Turkey’s rise as a dismantling hub represents a toxic trade-off — economic gain for long-term environmental and public health risks. While the government touts shipbreaking as a strategic maritime industry generating jobs and revenue, critics argue that its true cost is borne by nature, laborers, and future generations.
As HMS Bristol nears Turkish shores, its arrival is set to reignite fierce debates around environmental justice, maritime responsibility, and the ethics of hazardous waste disposal. Whether public resistance will stop this vessel, as it did with the Nae Sao Poulo, remains to be seen.
For now, the world watches as Turkey stands at the crossroads of industrial ambition and ecological accountability.
