Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard (Turkey)

Aliaga is an Eastern Mediterranean/Aegean Sea port town in Turkey's Izmir Province, with population around 60,000. Aliaga is approx 50 km (31 mi) north of the province's capital Izmir.

Port Aliaga (locode TRALI) serves mainly oil tankers and bulk cargo ships. The region's economy is based on tourism, shipbreaking, crude oil processing (petroleum refinery).

Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard houses several facilities used for dismantling and scrapping of mainly passenger ships (ferries and cruise liners). The cruise shipbreaking increased due to the Coronavirus crisis, and especially in 2020-2021, when shipowners sold for scrap some of their fleets' oldest vessels that were idled/in cold layups and losing money.

By capacity and annual scrapped DWT-deadweight tonnage, Aliaga is currently ranked the world's fourth-largest shipbreaking facility - following Alang (India), Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Gadani (Pakistan).

Cruise ships scrapped at Aliaga

Next are listed the most-famous ocean liners (SS), ferries and cruise vessels scrapped at Aliaga. In brackets is shown the boat's year-built and year-scrapped.

• SS Santa Rosa (1932-1989 as "SS Athinai")
• SS Flandre (1951-1994 as "Pallas Athena") aka Carla C, Carla Costa
• SS Port Melbourne (1955-2015 as MV Lisboa) aka Therisos Express, Danae, Starlight Express, Baltica, Princess Danae
• Princessa Isabel (1961-2008 as "Odysseus"/Epirotiki Line)
• Argonaut (1964-2003 as "Regina Maris"/Epirotiki Line)
• Istra (1965-2018 as MV Porto) aka Astra, Astra I, Nautilus 2000, Arion
• Aleksandr Pushkin (1965-2021 as CMV Marco Polo)
• Annie Johnson (1969-2012 as "Costa Allegra") aka Regent Moon, MS Alexandra
• Sea Venture (1971-2013 as "MS Pacific") aka "Pacific Princess"
• Southward (1971-2013 as "Venus") aka Seawing (NCL), Perla, Aegean Pearl, Rio
• Cunard Adventurer (1971-2014 as "MV Coral") aka Sunward II (NCL), Triton, Coral, Cora
• Neptune (1971-2001/Epirotiki Line)
• Aquarius (1972-2019 as "MV Adriana")
• Wakashio Maru (1973-2014 as "Golden Prince"/Epirotiki Line) aka Sunflower 7, Apollon 1, Minoan Prince
• Royal Viking Sky (1973-2021 as Fred Olsen Boudicca) aka Sunward (NCL), Birka Queen, Golden Princess, SuperStar Capricorn, Hyundai Keumgang, Grand Latino
• Cunard Countess (1975-2014 as "Ocean Countess")
• Jugoslavia (1976-2012 as "Hermes"/Epirotiki Line)
• FairSky (1984-2013 as "Atlantic Star") aka Sky Princess, Pacific Sky, Sky Wonder
• Regent Sky (1984-2011) unfinished cruise ship, aka "Stena Baltica"
• Fedor Dostoevskiy (1987-202 as CMV Astor")
• Sovereign of the Seas (1987-2020 as Pullmantur Sovereign)
• Seaward (1988-2022 as SuperStar Libra) aka "Norwegian Sea"
• Island Star (1990 -2022 as Pullmantur Horizon) aka Pacific Dream, CDF Horizon
• Monarch of the Seas (1991-2020 as Pullmantur Monarch)
• Carnival Fantasy (1990-2020)
• Carnival Sensation (1993-2022)
• Carnival Imagination (1995-2020)
• Carnival Inspiration (1996-2020)
• Costa Victoria (1996-2021 as "St Victoria")
• Marella Dream (1986-2022 as "Ella") aka Thomson Dream, Costa Europa, MS Westerdam, MS Homeric
• Saga Pearl 2 (1981-2022) aka Quest for Adventure, Astoria, Arkona, Astor
• Pride of Kent ferry (1992-2023) aka European Highway
• Pride of Canterbury ferry (1991-2023) aka European Pathway
• Ocean Diamond (1974-2024) aka Begonia, Femhil, Explorer Starship, Song of Flower, Le Diamant

Currently awaiting with a most uncertain future (located in Greece, "close to Aliaga" and awaiting scrapping) are the passenger ships Marella Celebration (1984), Pullmantur Horizon (1990), Pullmantur Zenith (1992), Majesty of the Seas (1992).

The list of the scrapped ship's former owners includes Carnival Corporation (via the subsidiaries CCL-Carnival, Costa, Princess), Royal Caribbean Group (via Pullmantur, RCI-Royal Caribbean International), NCLH (via NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line), Fred Olsen, CMV-Cruise and Maritime Voyages (2010-founded/2020-defunct), Portuscale Cruises (2013-founded/2021-defunct), Epirotiki Line (1850-founded/2005-defunct).

Note: Due to the Coronavirus crisis and IMO's new regulations (marine engine upgrades for using low-sulfur fuels and LNG), in 2020-2021 were scrapped 15 cruise liners - an unprecedented number in comparison to previous years, and even 5-year periods. In 2020, the average ship scrap metal (DWT-deadweight tonnage) prices in Alang rose to ~USD 400 per ton (from ~$200), in Aliaga - to ~USD 300 per ton (from ~$100). EU-flagged ships' scrap values were ~USD 100-200 per ton as these vessels require dismantling at EU-certified yards. Ship scrap prices in the USA were USD 80-90 per ton.