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(Pictured: four of the eight workers hospitalised for their burn injuries
sustained on 5 September)
Greek and Russian
shipping companies had both sold old vessels to the shipbreaking yard
Brussels, 14 September
2015 - The NGO Shipbreaking Platform calls for urgent action to stop dangerous
working conditions after four workers died following a gas cylinder explosion
in a shipbreaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The condition of four more
workers is still critical, after suffering severe burn injuries in the blast.
The accident happened on 5 September 2015 at the Shital Ship Breaking yard, a
yard that was only established in 2011 [1].
"This terrible
accident and the deaths of the workers are painful reminders of the dangerous
working conditions that are prevalent at the shipbreaking yards of
Bangladesh," said Muhammed Ali Shahin, coordinator of the NGO Shipbreaking
Platform in Bangladesh. "Continued lack of proper procedures, adequate infrastructure
and equipment, and sufficient training, are the root causes for such deadly
accidents. We demand that all yard owners and the relevant authorities push for
drastic change and ensure a safe and sound working environment in the yards.
The yard management must be held responsible."
According to the yard
management, the eight workers were hit by the cylinder blast when they were
getting ready for work, reported local media.
Three of the workers
only received only basic care and were sent back home. Later they were admitted
to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital when their condition had
deteriorated. The five others were already being treated at the hospital;
however, Khokon, Moksedul, Alamin and Shajahan succumbed to their injuries and
died in hospital. Today, Nadim, Pasha, Abdur Rouf and Mannan are still fighting
for their lives.
It was only after local
NGOs, trade union affiliates and member organisations of the NGO Shipbreaking
Platform, contacted the Bangladesh Shipbreakers Association (BSBA) that the
workers received better treatment in the hospital. The Ship Breaking Workers
Trade Union Forum and Platform member organisation BILS demanded proper care
and treatment and reminded the yard owners about their obligation to provide
compensation to the victims and their families. On 10 September, after three of
the injured workers had already died in the hospital, activists and citizens
formed a human chain in Chittagong to protest against the lack of response from
the yard owners.
Even though several
shipping companies have already renounced selling their old ships to the
breaking beaches of Bangladesh, as the working and environmental conditions are
still unacceptable, others continue doing so without any remorse. At the time
of the explosion, two ships were beached at Shital: the “Arctic”, an LNG tanker
whose last beneficial owner was the Russian state-owned tanker-giant
Sovcomflot; and the “Aman Trader”, which was sold for breaking by Greek
Universal Shipmanagement Corporation and was operated by Greek Enterprises
Shipping & Trading S.A. The latter has also sold three ships for breaking
to South Asia in 2015 and has been listed by the Platform as a “global dumper”
in 2014 [2].
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(Pictured: the human chain that took place on 10 September 2015 in front
of the Chittagong press club)
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"It is
irresponsible of ship owners to continue to ignore what is happening in
Bangladesh and to perpetuate a situation of exploitation and unsafe working
conditions by choosing these yards to maximize their profits instead of
demanding responsible ship recycling yards," said Patrizia Heidegger,
Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
The Daily Star, the
leading English-speaking newspaper in Bangladesh, commented that “it is
unacceptable that an industry as huge and risk-prone as ship-breaking should
still be in such a primitive state that allows these horrible accidents to
occur. The apathy and negligence demonstrated by employers violate basic labour
laws that make it mandatory for workplaces to maintain minimum safety
standards” [3].
Accidents remain common
in the shipbreaking yards of Bangladesh. According to information gathered by
the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisations, in 2015 alone 12
shipbreaking workers have died on the job, and 17 more were severely injured.
Last year, 17 shipbreaking workers died in Bangladesh, and at least 37 were
injured [4]. Explosions of gas cylinders, fires, steel plates crashing down in
an uncontrolled manner and falls from heights are all too common risks for the
shipbreaking workers of Chittagong.
CONTACT
Patrizia Heidegger
Executive Director
+32 2 609 9419
patrizia@shipbreakingplatform.org
NOTES
[1] See for example The
Daily Star, the Dhaka Tribune and World Maritime News
[2] See p28 of our
“global dumpers” 2013 list which we published in February 2014
[3] The Daily Star
editorial can be read here
[4] These are the deaths
the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisations are aware of.
The names of the workers
who died in 2014 are:
Babul Das, Md Jashim, Md Faruk, Md Arif Hasan, Gias
Uddin, Sultan, Amjad Hossen, Saidur Rahman, Moshin, Md Mohiuddin, Sujon Babu,
Uttam Nath, Afzal, Firoz, Asad Mia, Md Rafique, and Md Selim.
The names of the workers
who died so far in 2015 are:
Md. Gafur, Enamul, Saddam Hossen, Nuruddin,
Robiul, Borhan, Ali Hossein, Md. Elias, Shahjahan.
Source:
NGO Shipbreaking Platform
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