Chattogram, Bangladesh Global: The latest shipbreaking yard accident, in which a boiler blast left one dead and several critically injured, was not the first such accident to have taken place while scrapping the ship called Swarajya.
According to data from the NGO Platform for Shipbreaking, on May 28, Bodrul Islam, 54, sustained a leg injury while working as a fitter to dismantle this same ship, while the following day, Narayan, a 36-year-old cutter, injured his hand.
The ship was beached at a yard called SN Corporation. According to government data, there have been a total of 13 accidents in the yard since 2009, that has left 12 dead and 25 injured.
The Department of Environment (DoE) withdrew the environmental clearance of SN Corporation over the recent deadly accident. The department stayed the scrapping of the ship until further notice.
This is according to a letter issued by the DoE yesterday.
The yard first got an environmental clearance in 2011, while it was given an environmental clearance to scrap the ship Swarajya on May 26, 2024.
A show-cause notice has been issued, requiring an explanation within three working days as to why their operations should not be permanently halted.
"The accident in the shipyard was a clear violation of the environmental clearances given to the yard and for the scrapping of the ship," said the letter signed by the deputy director of DoE's Chattogram office.
Some 30 to 35 shipbreaking yards presently operate in Sitakunda. Of those, four yards, including that of SN Corporation, are certified as green yards. The shipbreaking yard of SN Corporation has a green compliance certificate.
Swarajya was formerly owned by the Indian government, and then sold to a cash buyer named Best Oasis, who then supplied it to Bangladesh's SN Corporation.
In a letter to the government, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (BELA) demanded that the government bear the full cost of treatment of the workers, and take responsibility for their rehabilitation.
"The workers sustained burn injuries in their respiratory system ranging from 25 percent to 90 percent," said BELA.
"There is no supervision of the work hazards involved in this industry, and there have been no investigations into these workplace accidents," they added.
Bangladesh Global/JS
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