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30 September, 2025In light of continuing workplace incidents at Bangladesh’s shipbreaking yards, IndustriALL is calling on the government of Bangladesh to enforce full compliance with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) across all shipbreaking yards and adopt binding measures that make the shipbreaking industry safe, equitable and sustainable.
In the first week of September, two workers were severely injured in separate incidents at Bangladesh’s shipbreaking yards. Subsequently, on 16 September, a fire broke out at the Ziri Subedar shipbreaking yard in Chattogram when at least sixteen workers from the oil remover group were working inside the engine room. Eight workers sustained severe burns of which four were reported to be in critical condition.
These are not isolated incidents but reflect the lapses in following procedures and protocols enshrined under the HKC. According to the data compiled by IndustriALL and its Bangladesh affiliates in the shipbreaking sector, there have been more than 30 workplace incidents this year, resulting in 41 injuries and four deaths.
In Bangladesh, ship recycling falls under the authority of the ministry of industries, which created the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board (BSRB) to act as the competent authority that certifies yards as compliant and gives permission for beaching and for cutting. The BSRB is made up of members from the ministry of industries as well as other government departments and includes members from the ship recycling employers’ federation. There are no workers’ representatives on the board.
In the recent past, IndustriALL’s visits to yards indicate that while visible technical upgrades may have been made, many yards are complying only on paper without making the necessary changes in work practices required to protect workers’ lives.
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, says:
“It is unacceptable that despite HKC coming into force, we are still witnessing workplace incidents at Bangladesh’s shipbreaking yards. The government of Bangladesh needs to demonstrate a stronger political and technical commitment to worker safety. No worker should ever have to risk their life to earn a living. I urge the government to recognise trade unions as an equal partner in this process.”
During the roundtable organised by IndustriALL on 10 September in Chattogram, trade unions in the sector had emphasised among other things the importance of equal participation of unions in the governance of the shipbreaking industry, particularly in the functioning of the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board to help ensure that the industry remains truly safe and sustainable.