United for a sustainable maritime industry1 November, 2021IndustriALL Global Union’s shipbuilding and shipbreaking action group adopted sector activities for the next twelve months and agreed to be united to promote sustainable maritime industry for a just future.
SPECIAL REPORT: What will it take for the Hong Kong Convention to come into force?18 January, 2022Shipbreaking has been called the most dangerous job in the world. In countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, workers face dangerous and precarious working conditions, with very little training, safety equipment and access to medical services. For this, they receive poverty wages.
Shipbreaking industry set for transformation with Hong Kong Convention28 June, 2023The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) will enter into force in June 2025, after Bangladesh and Liberia became contracting states to the Convention on 26 June 2023.
Bangladesh’s dangerous shipbreaking yards claim two more lives23 September, 2021In just a week, two more workers have been killed and three have been injured due to the deplorable lack of safety in Chittagong’s shipbreaking yards. IndustriALL affiliates BMF and BMCGTWF have repeatedly brought up the issue of health and safety with both Bangladesh’s government and the ship owners, but to no avail.
Bangladesh’s shipbreaking unions key in helping workers7 March, 2024Shipbreaking is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Workers employed at shipbreaking yards are forced to work in precarious working conditions for poverty wages. Cutting a vessel in the absence of safety equipment or lack of proper training for the job, poses an immense danger to workers’ lives.
Deaths in certified shipbreaking yards expose enforcement failures7 May, 2026Two recent incidents in Bangladesh's shipbreaking industry have exposed serious safety failures. Both yards claim compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention (HKC), yet workers continue to face life-threatening risks
Progress and challenges in Bangladesh’s shipbreaking sector15 April, 2025As we approach the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) on 26 June 2025, IndustriALL and its affiliates are pushing to ensure that the transition to a compliant shipbreaking industry does not leave workers behind. In early April, two training sessions, a yard visit and a roundtable discussion took place in Chittagong, Bangladesh, bringing together workers, union leaders, employers and experts to confront the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
Turkey ratifies Hong Kong Convention for safe recycling of ships4 February, 2019IndustriALL Global Union welcomes Turkey’s ratification of the Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound ship recycling, but says more countries must urgently follow suit.
Safety remains elusive on second anniversary of Gadani shipbreaking accident5 November, 2018One day after the second anniversary of one of the deadliest accidents in the history of the Pakistani shipbreaking industry, there was yet another fire in the Gadani shipyard.
Pakistan: Seven workers injured in a fire at shipbreaking yard17 October, 2018The fire started on 14 October as workers were breaking the oil tanker Kriti in the plot number 10 in the Gadani shipbreaking yard located in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The tanker is owned by an individual Alam Khan. Initial reports suggest that seven workers were injured as result of a fire, three of them are in critical condition due to severe burns.
