The Government of Bangladesh is actively
seeking international partnerships and financial support to help make the
country’s ship-recycling facilities greener and more sustainable, following the
successful completion of the first phase of a project aimed at improving safety
and environmental standards within the country’s ship-recycling industry.
The International Maritime Organization
(IMO), the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the
Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) have
jointly implemented the 30-month “Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling
in Bangladesh – Phase I” (SENSREC project).
This includes economic and environmental
studies on the ship-recycling industry in Bangladesh, studies on managing
hazardous materials and refining the Government One-Stop Service - in which all
the various ministries with a responsibility for ship recycling offer a single
point of contact for related matters.
Additional measures include developing
training materials and preparing a document for a follow-up Phase 2 to
implement the recommendations of the first phase.
The second phase of the project is expected
to focus on constructing a dedicated waste-management facility for treating,
storing and disposing of the hazardous waste (TSDF), as well as rolling out a
comprehensive training programme aimed at workers in ship recycling yards,
supervisors and government officials.
The main funding for the project came from
the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), with the European
Union (EU) also supporting the project with additional funding channelled
through the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
(BRS).
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Sidsel Bleken, Ambassador of Norway to
Bangladesh, said: “The SENSREC Project has achieved significant progress in
terms of developing health, safety and environmental standards and appropriate
training programmes that should stimulate a sustainable ship recycling business
in Bangladesh.
“Now, it is important to apply these
measures, particularly the workers’ training programme.
“Following the positive momentum created by
phase I of the project, and based on the requests from industry stakeholders,
the Norwegian Embassy has decided to continue its support to the ship-recycling
sector in Bangladesh.
“The purpose is to scale-up the capacity
enhancement to its next level and support implementation measures relating to
environment, health and safety standards, by institutionalising the workers’
training programme in practice.”
With an annual gross tonnage capacity of more
than 8.8 million, the Bangladeshi ship recycling industry is one of the world’s
most important, second only to neighbouring India in terms of volume.
The successful completion of the SENSREC
Phase-I Project is expected to assist Bangladesh in working towards accession
to IMO’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling
of Ships and towards meeting the international standards stipulated by the
Convention.
The Project was coordinated by a dedicated
Project Coordination Unit established by IMO, including a project office and
project officer based in Dhaka. A number of international and national
consultants were used to deliver the technical activities within the project.
Dr. Stefan Micallef, Director, Marine Environment
Division, IMO, said: “The completion of phase I of the project is not merely
the end of the initiative to improve the country’s ship recycling practice but
rather a stepping stone or a very good starting point towards further
development. IMO will continue to cooperate with the Government of Bangladesh
and, as far as possible, support its efforts with regard to training for ship
recycling.”
The ship-breaking industry has been in the
spotlight a lot recently due to the Gadani ship-breaking yard in Pakistan claiming
the lives of many workers due to chemical fires breaking out on ships.
Source: port technology. 01 Mar 2017
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