Government suspends import of scrap ships till April 7

The Ministry of Industries today asked the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association to halt the import of scrap ships till April 7.

The instruction came following a circular issued by the ministry in the wake of the worldwide corona outbreak.

The ministry also asked five ships -- which are carrying 100 foreigners, including the captain, cabin crew and other staffers -- to go into quarantine. The ships will be on the deep sea of the Bay of Bengal for 14 days, said the circular.

The ships came to Bangladesh from South Korea and China in the first week of March and have been waiting at deep sea. Those were to port at a shipyard in Shitakunda, reports our Chattogram correspondent.

"Considering the prevailing situation, we asked the five ships to be in quarantine for 14 days at deep sea. During the period, the ships won't approach the shores," AKM Shamsul Arefin, additional secretary of the Ministry of Industry, told The Daily Star.

The ministry also asked the Bangladesh Shipbreakers and Recyclers Association to take all necessary steps in line with the IEDCR guideline to stop the spread of corona virus among workers engaged in shipyards.

Dipankar Chowdhury, director of Bangladesh Shipbreaking Limited, told The Daily Star that they will comply with the ministry order until further notice.

"Measures for workers' safety is our routine work. This time, the ministry added a few more in the wake of the corona outbreak," he said.

He also added that there would no shortage of iron as there were enough ships to be dismantled in stock.