Ships are often full of toxics such as asbestos, lead, ozone depleting substances, PCBs and heavy metals. Little care is given to worker safety or protection of the environment. The toxics sicken the workers and ravage coastal ecosystems. The muddy sand and shifting grounds of tidal beaches cannot support adequate heavy lifting equipment or rapid emergency response, therefore accidents maim or kill countless of workers each year.  While ships were dismantled in Europe and Japan in the 70s, the introduction of stricter laws and regulations to protect workers and the environment prompted the shift of shipbreaking activities to South Asia where laws are poorly enforced. The shipbreaking practices in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have been strongly criticized by local and international groups that demand decent working conditions and environmental justice.  As end-of-life vessels contain large amounts of hazardous waste, these ships are governed by international waste laws such as the UN Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste. An amendment to the Basel Convention which has not yet entered into force at the international level, but is transposed to European Union law via the Waste Shipment Regulation, prohibits any export of hazardous waste from the EU to developing countries.

A new EU Regulation on Ship Recycling only allows for ships flying the flag of an EU Member State to be recycled in facilities listed by the European Commission as compliant with European standards. However, it is easy to change flags.

Pakistan's shipbreaking industry is also being challenged by cheap metals exported by China.     "Chinese producers are looking for avenues to dump their steel products, and Pakistan is a prime target," said Hussain Agha, CEO of Agha Steel, who also blamed China for hampering growth in the Pakistani shipbreaking industry.  Even if Chinese imports continue to grow, experts said that local shipbreakers can at least ensure that business from EU ships continue to flow this way provided that their yards comply with EU rules. To that end, the Center for Rule of Law, a nonprofit organization that promotes legal rights in Pakistan, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Balochistan High Court to try and force the federal government to wrest control of the industry from the local government. It is hoped that the federal authorities would then oversee EU compliance. The center has also drawn up a draft law that includes provisions for worker safety, compensation, and the recycling of waste and hazardous materials, in line with International Labour Organization guidelines. The draft law, if adopted by the government, would set the blueprint for industry regulation.

  As shipbreaking takes place in a very remote location local mobilisation is difficult. Workers organise in trade unions - one of them a yellow union, one of them more independent - to demand their rights. As the waste dumping occurrs in a sparsely populated area, which is also located in a conflict area, the local population has very little means to contest the industry.        

Between 2012 and 2014, around 350 ships were sent to Pakistan for breaking on the beaches of Gadani.