There's something eerily attractive about ships' graveyards. I've always wanted to go somewhere like this, and I have a feeling there's quite a large one somewhere in North Africa/the Middle East. Anyone know what I'm on about? It could be this place.
Tracicle, there was a very good article about a large ship graveyard in India in the Atlantic Monthly, August 2000. As I remember it, there's a beach in a sound in northern India where most of the aging large vessels of the world are sold by the pound, beached at high tide and the poor folks that live there take them apart (by hand) and live with the poisons of asbestos, pcb's, and the rest. Hard work, little pay, horrible poisoned death is the reward. The photo's were impressive, and the article made you feel about as bad about living in the industrialized world as any east coast US essay magazine could.
I tried to find the article on the web, at the Atlantic Online, but the archives are $$$ only. But here's the details:
The Shipbreakers, William Langewiesche. The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Aug 2000. Vol. 286, Iss. 2; pg. 31, 19 pgs
But every port city has a wreck or two that's worth exploring if you go at night when the cops aren't looking. Just park far enough away...
And here's a PDF with the pictures also.