In 2020, when COVID-19 disrupted the entire world, the sea travel industry also faced a severe crisis. Voyages stopped, ships were stranded in ports, and thousands of workers were left unemployed or isolated. To reduce costs, many companies decided to dismantle their aging cruise ships.
The port of Aliaga in Turkey’s Izmir province became a “ship graveyard” at that time. Here, some of the world’s largest passenger ships were dismantled and scrapped. Reuters photographer Umit Bektas captured these scenes with a drone, showing the world how hard the tourism industry was hit by the pandemic.
According to Bektas, the images reflected not only an economic loss but also a human tragedy. “These shots were painful for the ship owners and crews, but they revealed the truth of the pandemic,” he said.
Today, the port of Aliaga has returned to normal operations, but those images still remind us of the darkest days in maritime tourism. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the industry’s vulnerabilities and fundamentally changed global travel.
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