24 January, 2011Four workers were killed in a fatal explosion at Mak Corporation shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh. IMF calls on the government of Bangladesh to ensure that those responsible be brought to justice.
BANGLADESH: On January 18, 2011, four workers died and another suffered critical burns in a huge explosion at Mak Corporation shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh. According to reports the explosion, which occurred while dismantling of the fuel tanker of the ship, was heard two miles away. The impact of explosion was so massive that a worker, Miraj, 18, who died in the hospital, was thrown 100 meters away. He joined the company just three days earlier.
Bodies of ship breaking workers Liton, 35, and Jubayed, 22, were recovered from the explosion site after fire-fighters stopped the fire. Miraj, with 100 percent burns died at 2:30pm, while the other worker Rubel, 25, died 15 minutes later at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Another injured worker is undergoing treatment with 50 per cent burns to his body and his colleague with minor injuries was released after first aid.
Subsequently, the High Court on January 19 passed suo moto orders directing the government to stop all kinds of scrapping of ships in the country until further orders. The High Court bench ordered to move the unclean hazardous ships from the beach. The court also issued a contempt of court against the owner of the shipbreaking yard, Master Abul Khasem, vice-president of the Ship Breakers Owners' Association and the concerned official and summoned them to appear before it on January 28.
The court also ordered the Chittagong Port Authority to form a three-member expert committee within seven days to investigate the explosion at Sitakunda.
According to newspaper reports, as many as 30 workers were killed and 16 others were maimed in the last 21 months in 16 explosions in Sitakunda shipbreaking yards. In addition, many others have suffered minor injuries and their number was not recorded by anyone.
It is ironical to note that despite the ban order by the High Court on March 17, 2009 the Department of Environment gave temporary clearance certificate to Master Kashem, owner of Mak Corporation to import hazardous ships for dismantling in December 2010.
In March 2009 the High Court ordered the government to close all shipbreaking yards running without environmental clearance within two weeks and prohibited unloading from the ships that were already imported. It also directed the government to keep imported ships available for government scrutiny. It ordered that no ship would enter the Bangladesh territory without cleaning its toxins at source or outside the territory of Bangladesh. Later the Supreme Court stayed the high court order for closing the yards but sustained all other aspects of the order. Even though the court had directed the government not to allow any new yard to start the operation without clearance certificate, the number of shipbreaking yards has increased from 36 to over 100 since then.
In addition, the court directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest to frame rules on shipbreaking based on the government of Bangladesh's commitments under the Basel Convention, 1989, the Environment Conservation Act, 1995 and the Environment Conservation Rules, 1997.
According to the reports of The Daily Star, under the existing environmental laws it is mandatory for shipbreaking yards to obtain environmental clearance certificate, but large number of them are operating without clearance. According to reports, there are 50 shipbreaking yards that have applied for clearance certificates without proper structures or modern facilities for dismantling ships.
Bangladesh Metalworkers' Federation and Bangladesh Metalworkers League launched a police compliant against the shipbreaking yard owner and called on the government to ensure those responsible for the incident are brought to justice.