Along the Tamil Nadu coastline near busy ports and fishing harbours, one can find many rusted tugs, pilot vessels, passenger vessels and fishing trawlers waiting to be scrapped. However, in many cases, the vessels only degenerate and sink into the sea. This is because Tamil Nadu does not have any ship-breaking facility. A lone facility used to be in existence at the Valinokkam port in Ramanathapuram District (south of Rameswaram island). Ship-breaking activities used to be carried out in the 90s at the port. Plots of land measuring five-acres each were leased out by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). But it was shut down after environmental concerns were raised, recall old-timers. A high-cost affair Floating craft cannot be broken anywhere; we need a ship-breaking yard for that. At present, if vessels are to be broken, we have to tug it to either Kakinada or Kannur in Kerala, said C. Vijayakumar of Annam Steels. For sending ships to Kannur, they have to be taken all the way around Sri Lanka, which is way too expensive and in most cases the vessels are let to rust and sink into the waters, causing pollution, he said. Last month, an attempt was made to break a couple of vessels at the Kasimedu fishing harbour. However, the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association had objected to this, raising environmental concerns again. There is no facility or space inside the fishing harbour for breaking tugs or pilots. Vessels cannot just be broken any place. Proper permission has to be taken and steps to be taken to ensure no pollution is caused, said K. Bharathi of the association. A few years ago, a scrap merchant who had bought a small Coast Guard vessel through auction struggled to break it down due lack of permission and objections from various quarters. Finally, he shut shop, running into huge losses. I had no idea I had to obtain an NOC from the pollution control board. I also had to pay Customs duty, he recalled. Mr. Vijayakumar said that the State must draw up a set of rules on the lines of the ones in Gujarat so that ship breaking can be done in a pollution-free manner. Sources in the Fisheries Department said that efforts were on to take control of the Chennai and Thoothukudi fishing harbours where slipways are available for maintenance, repair and breaking of vessels. The harbours are presently under the control of the respective port trusts. We have plans to repair the facilities that are in disuse. Similarly, disposal of FRP boats and discarded fishing nets is also a concern, explained an official.