Explosion on the oil tanker MT Suvarna Swarajya on September 7 in Bangladesh exposed the lack of adequate international and national regulations, oversight, and labour rights protection in the shipbreaking industry, said the Human Rights Watch and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in a press release issued from Brussels on Wednesday.
The explosion at SN Corporation鈥檚 shipbreaking yards left six workers dead and four critically injured.
Ship owners frequently use a network of brokers to circumvent international regulations that prohibit export of ships to dismantling facilities in Bangladesh that do not have adequate environmental or labour protections, said the press release.
The MT Suvarna Swarajya was owned by the Shipping Corporation of India, then sold in March 2023 to Last Voyage DMCC and then sold the oil tanker in May to SN Corporation in Bangladesh for dismantling, despite the company鈥檚 poor health and safety record, with at least 14 deaths and 22 injuries since 2010 and before the sale, added the release.
鈥楾he tragic explosion in one of SN Corporation鈥檚 shipbreaking yards underscores dangers of an international regulatory system set up to profit the shipping industry rather than protect workers鈥� rights and safety,鈥� said Julia Bleckner, senior health and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Julia said, 鈥楾he Hong Kong Convention and its so-called certificates of compliance, like the one granted to SN Corporation, create dangerous illusion that these yards are safe and environmentally sustainable.鈥�
The press release said that the explosion occurred in the Unit-2 yard of SN Corporation, a few months after Nippon Kaiji Kyokai certified the yard under the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation鈥檚 Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
While the Convention will enter into force June 26, 2025, many shipbreaking yards are seeking voluntary certification using Hong Kong Convention standards, the press release said, adding that the HRW, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and other rights and environmental organisations had raised concerns that the Convention provides for weak environmental and safety standards.
Following the explosion, the Bangladesh authorities indefinitely shut down the yard, halted all work on the MT Suvarna Swarajya, and opened an official investigation into the accident.
Workers from SN Corporation鈥檚 yards told the HRW in July 2022 that the conditions in those yards were dangerous.
More than 100 end-of-life ships were imported under gray- and black-listed flags past year to Bangladesh violating a Bangladesh High Court order in 2019, mentioned the release.
The release stated that to be imported to Bangladesh for breaking, a ship must be issued a 鈥楴o Objection Certificate鈥� from the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board, indicating that there are no hazardous materials on-board. Moreover, the department of environment must also issue an environmental clearance certificate, and the department of explosives must issue 鈥榞as free for man entry鈥�, and 鈥榞as free for hot work鈥� certificates.
鈥楾he fire on the MT Suvarna Swarajya is a grave and revolting reminder both of the shipbreaking sector鈥檚 failure to comply with national requirements and of the weak standards set by the Hong Kong Convention,鈥� said Ingvild Jenssen, director at the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.