When set out to capture the ship breakers of Bangladesh, he knew that he was witnessing the end of an era.
For more than half a century, people have, piece by piece, pulled apart vast merchant vessels driven up onto tidal mudflats at Chattogram, Bangladesh. But under pressure from intense media scrutiny and changes to global standards, the Bangladeshi government in 2025 brought in new environmental regulations governing the beach dismantling of these vessels at the end of their life.
By the time Steinmetz travelled to the area and flew his drone up and down the beaches of the Bay of Bengal, the ship-breaking industry was much diminished, he says. The new rules have made the industry uneconomical, and only a few final ships were still being pulled apart under the old system.
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To capture his images, Steinmetz, who has just been announced as for the shot above, initially launched his aircraft from nearby. But, as he tells New Scientist, a local villager “ratted” him out and threatened to turn him over to the ship owner.
He then contacted one of the vessel’s owners and made his case – not that he wanted to capture environmental damage and human exploitation, but rather to show that “this is the largest form of recycling on the planet”.
Steinmetz was given permission to film one of the last ships being recycled under the old system, and not just from his drone. He was also allowed to join the work crews out on the mudflats as they dragged the rescued materials back to shore.
From the old liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship he was able to photograph, a team of 60 men will collect a total of about 27,200 tonnes of steel, more than 2,100 tonnes of aluminium and around 180-270 tonnes of brass, copper and stainless steel.
The photographer says that, at first, he was using the safety gear offered, such as gumboots, but he soon realised how impractical shoes were in the mud and ended up barefoot like the workers.
“The industry is disappearing,” says Steinmetz. “It might be safer for the employees and better for the environment, but, now it has become more expensive, the industry has moved elsewhere, and the men have lost their jobs.”
The Drone Photo Awards are part of the Siena Awards. Steinmetz’s winning image, along with the category winners, will be displayed in the exhibition at the natural history museum in Siena, Italy, until 29 November.
