Ship breaking industry is seriously damaging the environment
The ship breaking industry is crucial for Bangladesh’s economic development, particularly in the coastal region of Chattogram. Since the metals and other materials obtained from this industry are recyclable, it plays an important role in the economy. No one can deny that the industry also plays an effective role in the national economy.
However, its environmental impact is also very serious. The huge amount of waste and pollution generated by the ship breaking industry is seriously damaging the environment.
The ship breaking industry involves dismantling old ships to recover reusable metal and other materials.
Iron, steel, oil, electrical parts, furniture, and other ship materials are sorted and repurposed for use in various industries.
The ship breaking industry began in Chattogram in the 1960s and has since become a key industrial sector in the country.
In 1960, a strong cyclone hit Chattogram’s coast, stranding the Greek ship ‘MD Alpine’ on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in Sitakunda. Since the ship could no longer be floated in the sea, it remained abandoned there for several years.
In 1965, Chattogram Steel House bought the ship and spent several years dismantling it for scrap. This is where the ship breaking industry in the country basically started.
During the Great Liberation War in 1971, the Pakistani ship ‘Al Abbas’ was severely damaged by Allied shelling. Later, it was salvaged and brought to the Fauzdarhat seashore.
In 1974, a local company named Karnaphuli Metal Works Ltd. bought the ship and sold it as scrap. The ship breaking industry in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, started its operations after independence.
The history of the ship breaking industry in Bangladesh is quite old, but it grew greatly in the 1980s-90s. Currently, Bangladesh is known as the second-largest ship breaking country in the world, with India in first place.
Bangladesh breaks about 20-25 million tons of ships every year, most of which come from old cargo ships. In the 12 months to January 2022, 52.4% (8.02 million tons) of ships in the world’s ship breaking industry were broken in Bangladesh.
Out of about 120 ship recycling yards in the country, 50 are fully operational. It has now become a large and profitable industry for the country.
Even the industry provides a huge amount of revenue to the government authorities through taxes every year. The ship breaking industry plays an important role in the economy of Bangladesh.
The environmental problems of the ship breaking industry are very serious. Due to poor safety management and the absence of waste disposal processes, the industry is causing serious environmental pollution.
Old ships release asbestos, mercury, lead, cadmium, and oil into the sea and soil, causing pollution. In addition, metal dust and other chemical elements released during ship breaking also cause widespread air pollution.
