Burnt worker of Chittagong ship-breaking yard dies in CMCH

A ship-breaking yard worker died yesterday at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), four days after he was injured in an explosion at a yard in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong.

Md Khokan, 34, received 50 percent burn in the explosion at Shital Enterprise in Bara Kumira on Saturday.

Seven other workers, injured in the explosion, were in critical condition, said doctors at the hospital.

Source: the daily star. 10 September 2015

http://www.thedailystar.net/city/burnt-worker-ctg-ship-breaking-yard-dies-cmch-140662

Eight critically injured in ship yard explosion

Eight workers were critically injured yesterday when a gas cylinder of a scrapped ship exploded at a ship-breaking yard in Chittagong.

The explosion, believed to have been caused by a leak in the gas cylinder, took

place at the Shital Enterprise scrap yard in Sonaichhari union in Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila.

Five workers – Al Amin, 30, Nadim, 30, Moklesul, 30, Shahjahan, 40, and Khokon 25 – were admitted to the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit at Chittagong Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

Another three injured workers – Abdul Mannan, 24, Abdur Rouf, 25, and Kamal Pasha, 32 – were admitted to the city’s Al-Amin Private Hospital, police said.

Sitakunda Model Police Station Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Saidul Islam said the blast occurred when the workers entered the room of a scrap vessel around 7:30am.

The explosion took place when workers lit a fire to light up the space, police said after visiting the site. Due to a leak in a scrap cylinder, gas had filled up the room.

Anwarul Islam, administrative officer of the yard, refuted this account and said the workers lit a cigarette, setting off the combustible gas, adding that the workers had not followed established safety procedures.

ASP Saidul said a case was being filed with Sitakunda Model Police Station.

Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), a non-government organisation, says at least 128 workers have been killed and many others injured in industrial accidents, since 2005.

A report from December 2005 titled “The Human Cost of Breaking Ships” published simultaneously in Bangladesh, India and Switzerland said at least 1,000 workers had died in the preceding 20 years in Bangladesh’s ship-breaking yards.

YPSA Programme Officer Muhammed Ali Shahin said: “Most of the workers in the ship-breaking yards are recruited by contractors from poverty-stricken areas and are easy victims of exploitation by yard owners.”

“This sad accident shows the clear lack of safety measures in the industry,” added Shahin, coordinator in Bangladesh of Shipbreaking Platform – a Brussels based coalition of environmental, human rights and labour rights organizations working for safe and clean ship recycling worldwide.

The Supreme Court directed the government to formulate a set of rules by December 14, 2011, to free the ship-breaking industry from pollution and to ensure the safety of workers.

The ship-breaking industry boomed in the country in the 1980s. By the middle 1990s, Bangladesh ranked second in the world in ship breaking by tonnage scrapped.

At present, 52 percent of all large ships are scrapped in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association says there are 40 ship-breaking yards run by about 165 companies currently in operation on a 25km strip of Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong.

Some two million tonnes of large oil tankers, cargo and passenger vessels are dismantled every year in Bangladesh.

Source: Dhaka tribune. 6 September 2015

http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/sep/06/eight-critically-injured-ship-yard-explosion

Another ship-breaking yard mishap

Safety standards must be enforced

Eight workers of Shital Enterprise are fighting for their lives in hospital after being critically injured when a gas cylinder exploded at the ship-breaking yard in Sitakunda Upazila where they worked. These men in their prime, were getting ready for work when the accident occurred. The extent of their injuries points out once again the total disregard on the employers' part for workers safety. Ship-breaking yards in Chittagong are notorious for terrible work conditions and frequent accidents. Just this year, five workers have been killed in accidents and many have been severely injured at various shipyards in the district. Lack of protective gear and proper supervision to ensure safety are causes of such terrible loss of life and limb.

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.

In this particular accident it is believed that someone with a lit cigarette entered the scrap yard where there may have been a leaky gas cylinder, which caused the explosion and subsequent fire. If that is so, there should have been proper monitoring and dissemination of information regarding safety rules that would have prevented such carelessness and its disastrous consequences.

With regard to the injured, Shital Enterprise must take responsibility of taking care of their treatment and paying them adequate compensation. Companies at these shipyards must be required to provide safety gear to the workers and also have awareness programmes regarding precautionary steps to avoid these mishaps that take away precious lives and livelihoods.

Source: the daily star. 7 September 2015

http://www.thedailystar.net/editorial/another-ship-breaking-yard-mishap-139081 ​

NGOs call on Polish state owned shipping company Polsteam to stop beaching its toxic ships:

Brussels, 8 September 2015 - Environmental, human and labour rights organisations denounce Polish government-owned shipping company POLSTEAM for its poor shipbreaking practices and call upon POLSTEAM to take the necessary action concerning its ship recycling practices as a matter of urgency. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform and the European Environmental Bureau, and the more than 160 environmental, human and labour rights organisations they represent, together with Polish NGOs Fundacja Instytut na rzecz Ekorozwoju and Towarzystwo na Rzecz Ziemi, have sent a letter to POLSTEAM asking the company, and the government, to change its practices. [1]

“As an EU Member State owned shipping company, POLSTEAM should set an example and adhere to a ship recycling policy that is in line with EU standards and legislation. It is a disgrace to have a Polish state owned company listed amongst the top dumpers of toxic end-of-life ships on the beaches of developing countries,” said Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. [2]

Whilst new European Union legislation clearly disqualifies shipbreaking on tidal beaches as environmentally sound and safe and more ship owners join the group of those that do not want to be associated with dangerous and polluting practices [3], POLSTEAM has already this year sold three end-of-life vessels to South Asian beaching yards. The bulk carriers ARMIA LUDOWA and POLSKA WALCZACA were sold to Bangladesh breakers where shipbreaking is globally acknowledged not to respect even minimum human rights and environmental standards.

“Yet another gas cylinder explosion severely injured at least eight workers in Chittagong this weekend. I am wondering how many more accidents we have to document before the authorities in Bangladesh decide to hold a yard manager accountable for putting peoples' lives in danger - and for how long European ship owners, such as POLSTEAM, still want to profit from this dirty business?" said Patrizia Heidegger.

POLSTEAM is undergoing a fleet replacement and investment programme for the years 2015 to 2020 and still owns at least 15 vessels built in the 1990s that are likely candidates for scrapping in the next couple of years.

“The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has constructively consulted with many responsible owners of vessels and has together with these companies identified sustainable solutions for clean and safe ship recycling. We would be glad to exchange with POLSTEAM about available solutions. Poland has lots of dormant capacity for ship recycling, its laid-down shipbuilding industry could be converted to modern ship recycling facilities ”, said Patrizia Heidegger.

NOTES

[1] Letters to Polsteam in English and in Polish; letters to the Polish government in English and in Polish

[2] Since 2009, POLSTEAM has sold 13 end-of-life vessels for dirty and dangerous shipbreaking in South Asia. In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, end-of-life vessels are demolished in the intertidal zone. This practice would never be allowed in the EU and has been banned in other ship recycling countries such as China, Taiwan and Turkey. The beaching of vessels does not allow for the containment and safe removal of hazardous waste from the structure of the vessel and cannot prevent the pollution of the coastal environment. Moreover, beaching cannot guarantee the protection of workers’ health and safety. In particular the shipbreakers of Bangladesh employ children and young boys, which is illegal under international law as well as the Bangladesh Labor Act. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) considers shipbreaking as one of the most hazardous jobs in the world. None of the South Asian yards meet the requirements of the new EU Regulation on Ship Recycling.

[3] Thirteen large shipping companies already follow sustainable ship recycling policies. In addition to several Norwegian ship owners such as Grieg, Wilhelmsen and Høegh, also German Hapag-Lloyd, Danish Maersk Lines, Royal Dutch Boskalis, Canadian CSL Group and Singapore-based China Navigation Company, have committed to ensuring the proper end-of-life management of their fleet. They do so on principle, even if they have to compromise on their profits – they simply do not want to be responsible for polluting sensitive coastal zones and putting workers lives at risk during dirty and dangerous shipbreaking on tidal beaches. The recent announcement of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association adds many more shipping companies to the list of responsible stakeholders.

Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform

‘Tug’ of war over ship dismantling at SILK yard:

Amid brewing public protests, one more tug has been brought to the ship-breaking yard of the Steel Industrials Kerala Limited (SILK) at Beypore. The dismantling work will be carried out with the support of 18 workers at the SILK yard.

Though some of the trade union leaders from the area have communicated their opposition to the Port authorities and the SILK management over the dismantling activities at the yard, senior officers confirmed that they would not withdraw from the move as it was part of the lawful industrial activities of SILK in its capacity as a Public Sector Undertaking.

As part of the attempts to settle the dispute, the SILK management, on Thursday, held discussions with the opposing groups to convince them of the project and the safety measures already taken to address their concerns. However, sources said the protesters were yet to show any sign of cooperation.

Meantime, M.K. Manoharan, chairman of a State-level people’s council formed against ship breaking ventures, said the SILK, if transparent in its deal, should firstly show commitment to obtain No Objection Certificate from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for the project.

Source: the hindu. 28 August 2015

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/tug-of-war-over-ship-dismantling-at-silk-yard/article7589880.ece