Rising accident rate exposes Bangladesh claim of ‘green’ shipbreaking yards

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Although Bangladesh has declared 23 of its 31 shipbreaking yards as “green” on paper, the ground reality is that workers continue to face deadly safety hazards, with as many as 84 accidents being recorded since the Hong Kong Convention came into force last year, according to a report in the Bangladeshi media.

The gap between certification and reality was exposed yet again by the deaths of nine workers after exposure to toxic gas inside a scrap vessel at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries in Sitakunda’s Bhatiari on August 14, the report in The Daily Star said.

Data compiled by Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) shows that 84 accidents were recorded between June 26, 2025, and August 14, 2026, in which 15 lives were lost, and 81 workers were injured.

The Daily Star’s analysis of the data found that falling girders and heavy objects, crane or wire failures, and gas explosions accounted for most of the accidents.

Regarding Friday’s incident, officials of the Department of Explosives said the casualties occurred after hydrogen sulphide gas accumulated inside a confined tank on board the vessel. The scrapped LNG carrier, MT Rasi, arrived at the Chattogram anchorage in July 2025 and was beached for demolition later that month.

The deadly incident has renewed criticism that the “green licences” granted to shipyards certifying their compliance with the Hong Kong Convention amount to little more than “greenwashing” as the deceptive practices of making false, exaggerated, or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company practice continue.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships is a global treaty adopted in May 2009 by the International Maritime Organisation that entered into force on June 26, 2025. It ensures that ship dismantling does not harm human health, worker safety, or the environment.

However, expert groups such as the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) argue that it does not go far enough and that shipyards should also comply with the more stringent Basel Convention.

In a statement, BELA said: “The shipbreakers have argued that the Hong Kong Convention coming into force means there is no need for the controls they faced under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. Yet we continue to see how compliance with the weaker Hong Kong Convention has done little to improve the occupational health and safety of workers who continue to face death in the industry.”

–IANS

sps/vd