Bangladesh Shipbreaking Reclassification Sparks Safety Fears After 10 Deaths

A government committee's September 29 decision to move Bangladesh's shipbreaking industry from the "red" to the "orange" environmental category has triggered a dispute over whether faster approvals will dismantle mandatory environmental scrutiny for new recycling yards.

Industry leaders want relief from an approval process that runs roughly 90 days. Environmental experts warn the shift could make a full Environmental Impact Assessment optional for new yards. Writing in The Daily Star, former Kamalapur Inland Container Depot head Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury argues both concerns are real, but neither addresses the deeper problem.

"Decisions made before a yard opens, before a ship is dismantled, and before workers enter a hazardous space are not reliably connected," Chowdhury wrote. He calls for three distinct, enforceable safeguards that regulators currently treat as interchangeable:

• Environmental clearance for the facility, covering drainage, impermeable surfaces, runoff, pollution containment, waste disposal and cumulative coastal pressure, with public consultation for affected communities.
• Technical clearance for each vessel, based on its Inventory of Hazardous Materials and a ship-specific recycling plan verified by the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board (BSRB).
• Operational authorisation for hazardous work, checked at the workplace before cutting, confined-space entry or hot work begins.

What does the MT Rasi incident expose?

The stakes are concrete. On August 14, a toxic gas exposure during cutting of the scrap vessel MT Rasi at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Yard killed 10 workers — despite the yard holding green status.

The official inquiry found the gas-free certificate had not included hydrogen sulphide testing, and that critical safety supervision and emergency arrangements were absent. The ship also lacked an International Ready for Recycling Certificate because its flag state was not a party to the Hong Kong International Convention (HKC), which came into force in June 2025.

Chowdhury argues Bangladesh should require equivalent verified hazard documentation for ships from non-HKC flag states. "An absent international certificate must never mean an absent safety check," he wrote.

The HKC itself requires authorised facilities and ship-specific recycling plans but does not replace Bangladesh's domestic EIA process, he notes. A green designation guarantees design compliance, not continuous operational safety.

Can a single-window system fix the gaps?

A vehicle for reform already exists. In July, the government announced plans for a single online service for ship recycling approvals, alongside JICA-supported work on capacity, training and improved plans.

Chowdhury wants that platform to go beyond an electronic application counter. It should link the Department of Environment's site approval, the BSRB's facility and vessel plans, the factory inspectorate's safety notices and the competent authority's gas clearance records in one traceable workflow — with an unresolved serious safety notice automatically flagging a facility to other regulators.

He also proposes:

• Clear escalation rules for inspectors, including stop-work directions, correction deadlines and documented reinspection before hazardous work resumes.
• Transparent review of certification bodies, consultants and testing organisations whose assessments prove materially incomplete.
• Verifiable records tracking asbestos, oily residues and contaminated sediment to authorised waste facilities, plus periodic coastal water and sediment monitoring.
• Published yard-level records of incidents, inspection findings and corrective actions, letting shipowners choose credible recyclers.

Competitiveness, Chowdhury argues, does not require weaker tests. "Speed should come from better coordination, not weaker tests," he wrote. Fixed review milestones for complete applications and parallel assessments where the law permits could deliver predictability without abandoning physical inspection.

Before implementing the reclassification, the government should publish the legal and technical rationale, consult workers, environmental specialists and yard operators, and release a time-bound implementation plan with measurable targets for inspection follow-up, injury reduction and waste accountability, he concludes.

The next milestone to watch is whether the September 29 reclassification takes effect with mandatory site-level EIA scrutiny intact — or whether the orange category becomes a shortcut that repeats the failures documented at Ferdous.