Bangladeshi Shipbreaking Yard Fined $4,000 After Fatal Accident

After last week's fatal gas poisoning accident, Bangladeshi shipbreaking yard Ferdous Steel has been fined a total of $4,000 for conducting scrapping operations without a valid environmental clearance. The permit had expired and had not been renewed, the agency said.

While a pollution control permit does not specifically relate to the safety issues aboard the LNG carrier Rasi, which was undergoing demolition at Ferdous, it is the first penalty that the yard has faced in connection with the post-casualty investigation.

The company has seven days to pay the fine, and - more importantly than the monetary penalty - it must seek a renewal of its clearance before work can resume, shuttering the operation until after a review. The yard's owner has admitted to the violation, according to the Bangladesh Department of Environment.

On August 14, nine workers were killed by a leak of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas while cutting into a ballast tank aboard the Rasi. Several others were injured.

Hydrogen sulfide is formed by the decay of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, and while it is a typical hazard in wastewater-filled confined spaces, it is unknown how the gas built up to immediately-fatal levels inside the tank. The vessel had been out of service and on the beach for more than a year, and black sludge was found in three ballast tanks during a post-casualty inspection, according to TBS. Samples of the water in the tanks have been sent off to a chemical lab for analysis.

An investigation into the cause of the casualty is under way, and a contractor has been hired to perform abatement of any remaining hazards in the ballast tanks. High levels of H2S may still be dissolved in the foul water, the inspection team told TBS, so the removal operation will have to proceed carefully.