Concerns voiced over safety and environmental hazards
associated with ship-breaking in Bangladesh are not new. The latest that has
come is perhaps more strong-worded than ever. It has come from the Norwegian
Ship Owners’ Association (NSA). At a recent convention held in Singapore, NSA
advised its members not to allow recycling of their ships in Bangladesh, unless
it is done in keeping with the Hong Kong International Convention for ‘Safe and
Environmentally Sound’ recycling of ships. Reports say, NSA has decided not to
export their ships for recycling in Bangladesh, as several earlier attempts to
raise the ship-recycling standards in the country did not succeed.
The Norwegian stand appears to be further toughened
by a reported move of the European Union (EU), which accounts for 20 per cent
of the total scrap vessels sold around the world, to ban export of scrap ships
to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Twenty-eight countries under
the EU are reported to have prepared a guideline banning export of their ships
to the subcontinent — Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
These, no doubt, are grave signals to reckon with, if
the country is to see its ship-breaking industry continue, if not thrive, under
the difficult circumstances. The concerns are not just expressions of anxiety
as they used to be in the past, but are now clearly action-driven meant to
cause a drastic cut in the availability of scrap vessels to be dismantled for
recycling.
Given the state of things in the country’s
ship-breaking yards, including among others the accidents and deaths due to
unsafe conditions, one has to admit that the situation, neglected for decades
without any meaningful improvement in work conditions, has by now become too
heavy a burden to shoulder. There were repeated moves from various quarters
including international bodies and rights groups to raise the standard of work
culture in the ship-breaking yards. There are also allegations of ship-breaking
companies importing highly toxic foreign vessels despite a ban. Besides, the
2009 court order to ensure workers’ safety and implement environmentally sound
practices has not been adhered to. The media and the NGOs have been blaming state
regulators — including the department of environment and the ministries of
shipping and labour — for failing to protect coastal ecosystems and to monitor
these companies’ compliance with safety precautions. Occasionally, there were
some stern actions on the part of the law enforces as was seen in the eviction
of two breaking yards which were set up by destroying coastal forest in
Sitakunda, Chittagong in early February last year.
Of late, however, there are some moves to improve
upon the prevailing situation. A work plan for improving health facilities and
workers’ safety as well as for managing hazardous waste and addressing the
problem of oil pollution under the German-funded partnership project is in the
process of implementation. The authorities are also planning to set up a
central dumping zone. Upgradation of facilities like fire fighting, cylinder
storage and drinking water is also in the process. It will surely take time to
see the results. Experts are of the opinion that piecemeal moves are not going
to produce desired results. As the entire process involves a whole range of
arduous activities, there has to be an integrated plan of actions to address
each of those in a cohesive manner.
It is also true that not all the shipbreaking yards
are equally lacking in the facilities. There are reports in newspapers that
speak of considerable improvements in some of the yards in Sitakunda lately.
Some of those were visited by senior foreign diplomats who took a positive note
of their standards.
Ship-breaking, no doubt, is highly encouraging for
Bangladesh, estimated to be worth around US$2.0 billion. While it offers
employment to around three hundred thousand workers, it has the proven capacity
for supporting a vast array of heavy and light engineering industries. Iron
rods and billets that are recycled from ship scraps, believed to be of high
quality, meet a major portion of domestic requirement in the construction
sector. Old ships cater for 80 per cent of the demand for raw materials in the
rerolling mills. Experts are of the view that Bangladesh is a unique place for
ship-breaking and ship-recycling as nearly all the products available from
dismantled ships are being used locally. As the advanced countries have given
up on ship-breaking in view of the high cost of labour and accompanied
compliance issues, ship-breaking has all the prospects to thrive in countries
like Bangladesh.
This being the reality, it is indeed a matter of high
priority that the stakeholders — mainly the government and the ship-breaking
firms – put in their best to ensure that improvement in all critical areas are
made visible within the shortest possible time.
Source: hellenic shipping
news. 8 June 2015
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