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Sunday Alamba / AP
The rusting hulk of an abandoned ship is beached on the coastline in Lagos, Nigeria. All photos taken March 15, 2012 and made available May 1, 2012.
The Associated Press reports — The powerful waves of the Atlantic Ocean crash against rusting hulks beached along the coastline just outside of Nigeria's largest city, as lines of cargo ships waiting to come to port stretch across the western horizon.
Government officials say they don't know how many abandoned ships choke Nigeria's waterways, but they cause tremendous environmental and navigational hazards. And as more wash ashore daily, the massive vessels cause fast-moving erosion along Nigeria's beaches that can tear away a kilometer of shoreline in a matter of days, experts say.
Some of the ships have been there for decades, others only days. Many, abandoned after the lucrative theft of crude oil, serve as hulking metaphors for the lawlessness that plagues Nigeria. Read the full story.
Previously on PhotoBlog: Extremes of wealth and poverty in the Nigerian oil industry
Sunday Alamba / AP
Last August, Nigeria's Transport Minister Yusuf Suleiman promised to remove the wrecks within weeks, but nothing was done.
Sunday Alamba / AP
A man climbs out of the wreckage of an abandoned ship. Groups of salvagers move along the coast, removing whatever electronics and communication gear remains inside.
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thank you, africa. yet another contribution to the world.
My guess would be that the ships are not of African origin. Nigeria is a major oil producing nation. BP, Exxon etc. fight for contracts to drill off their coast. With next to zero regulation, I would assume these companies take what they need and leave the rest for scavengers.
Here in the west we should think about things before we go around pretending that the rest of the world are lesser beings than us.
One solution may be to attract the attention of large scrap mataling companies, perhaps they would be intrested in setting up some kind of deal with Nigeria to dismantel and haul away these deteriorating ships, it could perhaps provide jobs and money to the country for a temporary period of time and thus save the shorelines. Just an idea.