Six workers hurt so far this year: NGO Shipbreaking Platform

At least six shipbreaking workers sustained serious injuries in Bangladeshi yards so far this year, said NGO Shipbreaking Platform in its quarterly report.

On January 18, two workers, Ishak and Emron, were injured after falling in the engine room of the ship Hao 3 -- owned by Chinese shipping company Anhui Haohang. They worked as security guards in Master & Brothers yard, the report said.

Four days later, Md Fakrul, aged 32, sustained a broken leg while dismantling the Japanese-owned ship Sighter at SN Corporation. The facility claims to be compliant with the Hong Kong International Convention for safe and environmentally responsible ship recycling, the report added.

On February 4, a 26-year-old cutterman named Rasel at Mahinur Enterprise fell from a vessel while cutting the ship Jin Hai Xi. He sustained spinal injuries, the report said.

Another worker named Md Rasel was injured on March 3, while he was dismantling MT Nautica, owned by Malaysian company EA Technique Bhd.

Another cutterman, Mamun, was injured when an iron plate fell on his head while he was working on the same ship.

The report also said that a ship belonging to an Irish company called Trade Credebt Ltd was scrapped in Chattogram, even though ships sailing under the European Union flag cannot be legally scrapped in Bangladesh.

The platform called for enhanced safety measures for these workers. "Workers in many Bangladeshi ship breaking yards cut wires and pipes, blast through ship hulls with blowtorches, climb multiple stories and haul scrap metal, without adequate protective gear," they said.

"Many are killed or seriously injured by explosions, crushed by falling chunks of steel, or burned by flammable gases, liquids, and other materials," they added.

"Labour in Bangladesh's shipbreaking industry is largely informal, unregulated, and rarely subject to occupational health and safety inspections or controls. Workers are not only subject to unacceptable working conditions but also left with little or no support in case of accidents," stated the report.