Yet again, the workers of a shipbreaking yard have suffered serious injuries in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila. On Saturday, an explosion took place in SN Corporation's shipbreaking yard leaving 12 workers with severe to moderate burn injuries. Of them, 10 are said to be in critical condition. The incident happened when the victims went to inspect the fuel tank in a scrapped ship's engine room, as per a report by this daily.

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Shipbreaking yards need to be environment friendly

Over the last two decades, such incidents have become quite common, taking the lives of 257 workers in total. This shows how precarious this profession has been. Of the 30 to 35 shipbreaking yards currently operating in Sitakunda, only four have green compliance certificates, which are issued based on the criteria of environmental friendliness, workers' safety, and the working environment of yards. While it is not clear yet what caused the latest explosion, the question remains whether responsible government bodies properly carry out inspections at the shipbreaking yards.

As various reports reveal, these yards are notorious for their hazardous work conditions. Workers often lack proper safety gear, handle toxic material unsafely, inhale dangerous fumes on scrapped ships, and work long hours without necessary intermittent breaks. Although the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act 2018 and the Ship Breaking and Recycling Rules 2011 set out the rights of workers and the required work conditions and training that their employers and yard owners must provide, enforcement of these legal instruments remains a big concern, as evidenced by the frequency of workplace injuries and fatalities.

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Shipbreaking yards or graves for workers?

It has been six years since the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board was formed per the 2018 Act to ensure overall supervision and evaluation of ship recycling operations, among other things. But to date, this board remains inactive. The imperatives of insurance benefits for workers and punishment for law violators following regulation inspections are also facing the same stagnation. We are told that a three-member committee has been formed to probe Saturday's incident, but we urge the government to take comprehensive measures to prevent such incidents from occurring again. For that, a speedy implementation of the 2018 law to ensure shipbreaking workers' safety and wellbeing is vital.

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