20 September 2012

Shipbreaking sector in Bangladesh ‘back on track’:

Bangladesh: Having imported ships with an iron plate content totalling 2 million tonnes over the last nine months, Bangladesh’s shipbreaking business is ‘back on track’, according to industry experts. Some 206 ships have already been dismantled this year - a significant increase from the recent period when regulatory complexities plunged the sector into uncertainty.

Bangladesh is ‘a unique place’ for shipbreaking activities as nearly 100% of the products that come from the dismantled vessels are used, states Hefazatur Rahman, President of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association (BSBA). The country is currently in ‘top position’ in the dismantling sector and is hopeful that some 3 million tonnes of steel will have been extracted from ships before the year is out, he adds.

The situation differs greatly from that of a couple of years ago, with Mr Rahman pointing to improved safety standards for workers and a growing awareness of environmental factors as key drivers behind the change. Various legal campaigns by environmental groups almost shut down the sector in 2009, observes the BSBA’s Technical Adviser Captain Salahuddin Ahmed.

According to the organisation, the country’s 125 shipbreaking yards imported some 145 ships last year with an iron plate content of 1.7 million tonnes.

Source: recycling international. 20 September 2012
http://www.recyclinginternational.com/recycling-news/6535/other-news/bangladesh/shipbreaking-sector-bangladesh-back-track

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