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Bangladeshi shipbreakers victims of explosions

(Source: Dhaka, XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE March 8, 2004) - "Some 150 people died and 576 others were crippled in explosion accidents at the ship-breaking yards in southeast Bangladesh in the last decade. This was revealed by a recent survey on shipbreaking industry of the country by a non-governmental organization Young Power in Social Action (YPSA). The report identified poor safety systems, use of old methods in cutting giant ships, and lack of precautionary measures as the main reasons for explosions in the factories.

To make things worse, most of the injured workers become cripple as they failed to get help from the industry owners or the government for better treatment to regain their working ability, since they have no access to health care, according to the YPSA chief executive Arifur Rahman. She bitterly criticized the government, that is earning some 116 million US dollars annually from the ship-breaking, but gives little attention to the workers' welfare. The ship-breaking factories of the country concentrated in the coastal Sitakundu sub-district, 251 km north of the port city Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh.

The shipbreaking industry was born out of a severe cyclone in 1960 which killed thousands of people and destroyed a giant foreign-owned ship that could not be refloated. It took years to scrap the vessel, but the work gave birth to the industry in Bangladesh.

According to the YPSA, at present some 150,000 families earn their bread from ship-breaking yards, and the industry supplies 60 percent of the total demand of iron of the country. The owners of shipbreaking factories keep importing uncleaned vessels to save costs, adding to health hazards and pollution to the workers and people living in the adjoining areas of the industry.

A source from the industry said countries like India have the aged ships cleaned in Colombo before bringing them to the shipbreaking yards, but Bangladesh businessmen bring in the old ships uncleaned. If they cleaned the ships first like India, the cost would be much higher and the price of products of re-rolling mills will go up. It would further have a negative impact on the booming business of real estate industry, said the source. The uncleaned ships often catch fire, and some chambers filled with gas for a long time are prone to explode, said Shahidul Islam, a researcher at the Chittagong University on coastal environment and natural disasters studies.

Besides explosions, big sheets of iron from the ship fall on the workers frequently, killing and injuring a number of people, said Islam. Moreover, the working conditions of the shipbreaking factories are very unhygienic and dangerous, causing damage to the health of the workers. Workers are seen working in dirt all day long, thus suffering from respiratory problems, while the workers who cut ships into pieces by welding are receiving health hazards caused by radiation. Many of them have tuberculosis, stomach troubles as well as other physical problems that will ultimately bring an end to them, added Islam.

Official data show at least 297 persons were killed and 600 more injured in all kinds of accidents at the ship-breaking industry of the country in the past 12 years. "Had I other means, I would not work here," said Abdur Rahman, a worker from Bangladesh's southwestern Jessore district. He said his family staying in his hometown entirely depends on his meager daily income of 1.2 US dollar, adding he still can not bear the education expenses for his children. Referring to the low income of the workers, a yard owner Khan Mohammad Nasiruddin said a slice of their wages is often taken away by the middlemen, who bring them to jobs, as most of the workers are from other districts of Bangladesh.

The owner further argued that even then, the workers are better placed with a somewhat guaranteed job round the year, compared with farm workers and other menial workers in the country. The YPSA has taken a project to make recommendations on the development of shipbreaking industry. Under the project titled "Advocacy for a public policy to ensure human rights in ship-breaking industry", the NGO will conduct a six-year-long study and submit the recommendations to the government. "

(Source: Dhaka, XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE March 8, 2004)