Bangladesh Asks for More Help on Ship Recycling Reform

The Government of Bangladesh is seeking international partnerships and financial support to further boost the environmental performance and sustainability of its ship-recycling facilities. 

With an annual gross tonnage capacity of more than 8.8 million, the Bangladeshi ship recycling industry is one of the world’s most important, second only to neighbouring India in terms of volume.

The IMO, the Government of Bangladesh and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) have already implemented a 30-month “Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh – Phase I” (SENSREC project).

The project’s successes include economic and environmental studies on the ship recycling industry in Bangladesh; studies on managing hazardous materials; refining the Government One-Stop Service (in which all the various ministries with a responsibility for ship recycling offer a single point of contact for related matters) and development of training materials.

The second phase of the project is expected to focus on constructing a dedicated waste-management facility for treating, storing and disposing of the hazardous waste, as well as the roll out of a comprehensive training program aimed at workers in ship recycling yards, supervisors and government officials.

The main funding for the first phase of the project came from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. The European Union also supported the project with additional funding channelled through the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

The successful completion of the SENSREC project is expected to assist Bangladesh in working towards accession to IMO’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and towards meeting the international standards stipulated by the Convention.