257 lives lost in accidents over last 2 decades

Over the past two decades, casualties have become a recurring tragedy at shipbreaking yards in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila.

A total of 257 people were killed and many more sustained injuries in accidents at these shipbreaking yards between 2005 and 2024.

Of them, 140 workers were killed between 2014 and 2024, according to the data compiled by NGO Shipbreaking Platform, an international NGO coalition campaigning for clean and safe ship recycling.

In yesterday's incident, 12 workers sustained burn injuries in an explosion at the shipbreaking yard of SN Corporation.

According to hospital sources, most of the injured workers had inhalation burns, and they were in critical condition. Of them, seven injured workers were immediately transferred to Dhaka for better treatment.

The shipbreaking yard of SN Corporation has a green compliance certificate.

ClassNK, a Japan-based organisation, provides the certificate to shipbreaking yards based on environment friendliness, workers' safety, and working environment, said Muhammed Ali Shahin, assistant director of Young Power in Social Action (YPSA).

Among its various responsibilities, YPSA works to ensure a safe working environment at shipbreaking yards in the country.

Shahin said, "When our shipbreaking yards are becoming green yards one after another, this sort of accident is totally unacceptable. We want the owners of the shipbreaking yards and the monitoring authorities of the government to be more cautious in this regard in a bid to avert such accidents in the future."

Some 30 to 35 shipbreaking yards presently operate in Sitakunda. Of those, four yards, including that of SN Corporation, are certified as green yards.

Activists working for the rights of shipbreaking workers say if such an explosion can occur at a certified green shipbreaking yard, it goes without saying that the safety precautions at other yards are no better.

They say frequent accidents have been happening at these yards due to "sheer negligence" by the owners towards the workers' safety and lack of monitoring from the government offices concerned.

As per international rules, the owners must remove the toxic elements from a ship before bringing it ashore for dismantling, but most owners of ship-breaking yards do not do so properly, said Tapan Dutta, convener of Shipbreaking Workers' Trade Union Forum.

"Instead, it's when owners compel the workers to dismantle ships with toxic elements that result in frequent accidents.

"Moreover, although, as per rule, the owners must train up the workers before engaging them in the work of dismantling ships, most of the owners do not do that either, and instead they engage the freshmen in dismantling ships without proper training that also results in repeated accidents in yards."

Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA) opened a training centre in Chattogram city few years ago, which is now "inactive,"  Tapan added.

Fazlul Kabir Mintu, member secretary of the same union forum, said, adequate safety gear is not provided to the workers, and that's why the rate of death is so high when accidents occur.

"Shipbreaking workers are engaged in risky work. As per the labour law, workers must be given rest for half an hour after every two hours to allow them to hold concentration during the work.

"But this rule is not followed at shipbreaking yards. Instead, the workers are forced to perform duty at a stretch of 8-10 hours."

Contacted, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment Inspector Shuvankar Dutta said a team visited the yard after the accident and that the department would take action after an investigation.