The NGO Shipbreaking Platform published on 20th feb, its List of Ships dismantled worldwide in 2017 in tidal beaches of South East Asia revealing the shipping industry’s irresponsible shipbreaking practices and a series of human rights and labour abuses, including loss of life, at shipbreaking yards.
According to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform data, 543 ocean-going commercial vessels were broken down by hand in yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform reports. Greek and German shipowners continue to be on top of the list of shipping companies that opt for dangerous and dirty shipbreaking practices. Greek owners were, responsible for the highest absolute numbers of ships sold to South East Asia shipbreaking yards in 2017.
According to information independently gathered by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform through its Bangladeshi members-organisations, shipbreaking workers include migrants and children, who are subject to abusive labour practices such as dangerous and unsafe working conditions that have lead to loss of life. 2017 documented 16 deaths and 22 severe injuries in Bangladeshi yards, the cause of which varied from falling steelplates, hits by iron cabling and piping, suffocation from toxic gases and general occupational deceases from exposure to toxic fumes such as asbestos.
Apart from the immeasurable human cost, the practice of beaching vessels has a detrimental impact on the local ecosystem when toxic spills and various pollutants are released.
On top of this, the general lack of transparency in the shipbreaking practices by the shipowners and the local yard owners makes the collection and the verification of data difficult, Shipbreaking Platform reports.
Download the press release of NGO Shipbreaking Platform here and the list of all vessels dismantled worldwide in 2017 here.
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Source: Human Rights at Sea
