Importers
happy, activists concerned
The country
imported the highest number of recyclable ships, with iron plates weighing 2.86
million tonnes, last year.
Chittagong-based
shipbreakers said about 260 ships have been imported in 2012, which is the
highest in the last five years, when the industry saw many ups and downs due to
legal complexities.
They said their
business was back on track and they were expecting more ships to dismantle in
the coming days and hold the top position.
At the same
time, environmentalists have raised their concern over the environment and
workers' safety issues following the import of a large number of old ships.
The Ministry of
Industries issued NoC (no-objection certificate) for 260 ships last year, while
it also gave cutting permission to shipbreakers for over 200 ships, a senior
ministry official told the FE.
"We
imported a record number of ships last year as there were no legal complexities
that seriously hindered the industry's growth," president of Bangladesh
Ship Breakers Association (BSBA) Hefazatur Rahman said.
Bangladesh is a
unique place for shipbreaking as nearly cent per cent of the products coming
from the dismantled ships are being used here, he said.
"The
situation is now different from that of a few years back," he said adding
over the years, the industry has improved safety standards for the workers
through various steps including training for workers and "it is also aware
of the environment".
A total of 260
ships weighing 2.86 million tonnes were imported at a cost of about $1.35
billion, Technical Adviser of BSBA Captain Salahuddin Ahmed said.
"Bangladesh
is the only country, where every part of the ship is sold at a doubled rate
compared to other countries like India," he added.
Bangladesh had
been the top scrap ship buyer for 8 times in a row from 2000 to 2010
leaving China, India, Pakistan, Turkey behind, he said adding, "After 2009
various legal campaigns by environmental groups almost shut down the
sector."
"But now
the industry is back on track," he said adding the shipbreaking sector
was vital to the economy as it supplies the much-needed steel and iron to the
domestic market.
"Bangladesh's
unique geography is also a reason why ageing ships are taken to its beaches.
The unique tide pattern makes it easy to ground the ships during high
tides," he explained.
"Now we are
more worried as the death incidents are still high," Bangladesh project
coordinator of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of 18 human
rights, labour rights and environmental organisations, Muhammad Ali Shahin
said.
There is lack of
worker's training, personal protective equipment, skilled supervisers,
compliance with and respect for the law along with the beaching method and
risky manual process of cutting and loading, he said.
"Enforcing
the law on workers' safety, pre-cleaning of ships and moving the yards away
from the beaches can prevent the death casualties," he said further.
According to the
platform, 15 shipbreaking workers died in 2012 and 2011 each in Bangladesh,
while 12 died in 2010.
The country's
125 shipbreaking yards imported 145 ships weighing 1.7 million tonnes of iron
plates in 2011. The import had dropped significantly in 2010, upon a judicial
verdict, as environmental groups took the issue to court on the allegations of
dumping hazardous materials by the ships on the coast and exposing workers to
toxic substances.
In the face of
protests and obeying the court order, the government had suspended import of
recyclable ships for about a year. Later, the government introduced new rules
for shipbreaking and formed a Ship Breaking Cell at the Ministry of Industries
to implement the rules.
The once-active
shipbreaking yards at Sitakunda dismantled only 75 ships in 2010, more than
170 ships in 2008 and 150 in 2007, according to BSBA
Source: the financial express 13
January 2013
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