Bangladeshi PM called to act on shipbreaking:

In a letter supported by Seas At Risk, the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking has called on the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, to stop the dumping and breaking of ships on the beaches of Bangladesh.

The letter asks for a “judicious and appropriate intervention against the dumping of hazardous end-of–life ships, primarily by western, foreign owners, which results in the continued exploitation of Bangladeshi labourers and coastal environment.”

The shipping industry has long held a reputation for using countries like Bangladesh as a dumping ground for obsolete vessels laden with deadly hazardous waste materials found on board ships including asbestos, PCBs, toxic paints, biocides, fuel residues and other hazardous substances.

The letter, signed by 42 non-profit organisations, ask the Bangladeshi PM - Sheikh Hasina - to take a stand on the matter, and more specifically, to support the “pre-cleaning” of ships in the exporting country before they enter Bangladeshi territory and to move the shipbreaking industry off the fragile beaches of Chittagong.

Source: Seas at Risk; 23rd January 2011

http://www.seas-at-risk.org/news_n2.php?page=371