SHIPBREAKING industry plays an
important role in the economy of Bangladesh by supporting steel industry,
shipbuilding industry and other heavy and light engineering industries, and also
by generating employment. But problems regarding safety, health and
environmental issues create a negative image for the industry.
Previously, shipbreaking was done
in industrial nations, but because of the hazardous nature of the industry it
shifted to south Asian countries where safety and environmental regulations are
more relaxed. About 90% of shipbreaking in the world is done in India,
Bangladesh, Pakistan and China.
International Maritime
Organization (IMO) has been trying to implement
guidelines/regulations/conventions for qualitative improvement of shipbreaking
industry around the globe since 2003. The ‘Hong Kong International Convention
for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships’ is one of them. The Hong
Kong Convention (HKC) was adopted in May 2009 and started ratification from
September 2009. It will come into force upon fulfillment of some requirements.
It is applicable to all merchant ships greater than 500 gross tonnage (GT) as
well as to all ship recycling facilities. The European Commission (EC) is also
going to enforce the ‘European Regulation on Ship Recycling’ by the end of
2013. One of the key issues of both regulations, which directly affect the ship
recycling industry, is the authorisation of ship recycling facilities. Many
ship recycling yards which are not up to the mark may be eliminated because of
restricted authorisation of ship recycling facilities.
When HKC comes into play, it is
expected that a sea-change will occur in the shipbreaking industry. Even though
Bangladeshi ship breakers are generally the highest payers among shipbreaking
nations, they will face difficulty in bringing ships from outside without
having necessary approval of their ship recycling yards. For example, for
breaking a European owned vessel, it is the obligation of the owner/buyer to
ensure that the vessel which is going to a particular ship breaking facility
has got the necessary infrastructure and approval/authorisation from reputed
organisations like classification societies so that environmental issues,
safety and health of the workers are maintained by that ship recycling
facility.
After framing of the Ship
Breaking and Ship Recycling Rules 2011, there have been some positive changes
in ship breaking industry in Bangladesh. The Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation (NORAD) is working in Bangladesh for capacity building in
shipbreaking industry. We should keep an eye on the activities of our main
competitors like India and China because, to stay in this business, we need to
achieve at least minimum standards in terms of health, safety and environment.
We also need to take initiatives to cope with upcoming regulations for ship
recycling industries.
The Department of Naval
Architecture and Marine Engineering of Buet is doing research work on
shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh over the last couple of years. A few
seminars/symposiums have been arranged in line with the research work to share
the knowledge with all stake holders, including policymakers from the
government. Recently, ClassNK had arranged expertise training workshop on
Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) for shipbreaking industry at Alang,
Gujrat, India. Two faculty members from the department of Naval Architecture
and Marine Engineering (including myself) participated in this extensive
workshop, which was sponsored by the sub-project ‘Modernization of Naval
Architecture and Marine Engineering Program at Buet’ through UGC’s Higher
Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP, CP#2083). Two IHM experts from
Germany and Japan demonstrated all the aspects related to shipbreaking and
recycling industries. ClassNK also arranged field visit to Alang shipbreaking
yards (which is one of the biggest shipbreaking yards in the world) for
practical demonstration and to show their activities in some yards.
What we found was that Indian
shipbreakers were conscious about upcoming HKC regulations, and were prepared
to do anything for their business so that it was not affected negatively by the
upcoming regulations. In the meantime, ClassNK is working closely with at least
half a dozen shipbreaking yards at Alang for the approval of ship breaking
facilities. Experts from Japan regularly visit these yards to see their
activities. They analyse the GAP for the specific yard and recommend additional
requirements to comply with HKC. Once the shipyard meets the necessary
requirements, it will be certified as HKC compliant ship breaking yard.
To comply with HKC, Indian
shipbreakers have already got centrally operated Treatment, Storage and
Disposal Facilities (TSDF), which are used by all 160-170 shipbreaking yards
located at Alang. Due to their favourable geographical location, every yard is
able to beach the ship very near to its plot. As a result, it is very easy for
them to use heavy machinery/crane facilities for breaking ships. At the same
time, bilge-ballast water management and fuel oil management can be easily
maintained. These yards are working with academic institutions like IIT, and
continuously presenting their research works in seminars/conferences not only
in India but also outside. As a result, the international community is fully
aware about their good initiatives and may consider India as a good option for
their ship breaking when HKC enters into force.
We should keep in mind that
shipbreaking is something which is definitely going to be affected by the
upcoming regulations. To hold our position in world shipbreaking, there is no
other alternatives but to comply with HKC. On the other hand, it is not
possible to comply with HKC overnight. We must upgrade the infrastructure for
upstream and downstream waste management, and health and safety issues of the
workers before trying to get facility approval of the yard. If we do not start
the process right now, we might lose the business of shipbreaking in near
future. We should also strengthen industry-academia collaboration for research
work. The government can utilise the expertise of the Department of Naval
Architecture and Marine Engineering to improve overall standard and image of
shipbreaking industry so that it can be sustainable in the long run.
The writer is Professor,
Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Bangladesh University
of Engineering and Technolgoy (BUET).
E-mail: gzakaria@name.buet.ac.bd
Source: the daily star. 28
October 2013
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