Three months after authorities gave the
green light for tanker beachings to resume at Gadani, Pakistan, another fire
broke out aboard a decomissioned VLCC, trapping several workers inside the
burning hull.
Local sources report that the fire broke
out during demolition work. 20 laborers were rescued, but four are believed to
be trapped within the vessel. National
Trade Union Federation (NTUF) leader Nasir Mansoor said in a social media
update that 100 workers were at the site at the time of the incident.
Gadani's shipbreakers have experienced
multiple fires resulting in loss of life in recent years. These incidents
included a fuel tank explosion aboard the FPSO Aces in November 2016, which
killed at least 26 workers and wounded 58, and a second fire aboard the same
vessel in November 2017. Separately, a fire broke out on an unnamed LPG carrier
in December 2016, and then a second time in January 2017, with five fatalities
and an unknown number of missing workers during the second incident. The deadly
blazes resulted in a temporary ban on tanker scrapping at Gadani, which was
lifted in April 2018.
Labor rights advocates assert that
shipbreaking is Pakistan's deadliest industry, with little regulation and
inhumane working conditions. "Even jungles would have some laws, but there
are none here," alleged Mansoor, in comments to Pakistan's Express Tribune.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund recently
excluded four shipowners from its portfolio for selling end-of-life vessels to
Pakistani and Bangladeshi shipbreakers, citing a pattern of "severe
environmental damage and serious or systematic violations of human rights."
Demolition brokerage GMS contests this characterization and asserts that the
industry is making improvements, especially at yards that are pursuing
certification to Hong Kong Convention ship recycling standards.
Source: maritime-executive. 16 July 2018
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