Recovery in Bangladesh shipbreaking tonnages

Bangladesh – The ship recycling market in Bangladesh rebounded well in 2011 despite legal barriers faced by the industry for two years. Furthermore, shipbreakers have expressed the hope that they will be able to recycle around 3 million tonnes of scrap next year following the government’s formulation of shipbreaking and recycling rules.

Legal issues have reduced the shipbreaking sector’s imports of old vessels since 2009. However, the country’s 125 shipbreaking yards have imported 145 ships weighing 1.7 million tonnes in iron plate terms this year.

Imports dropped significantly in 2010 as environmental groups took court action over dumping hazardous materials at the coast and exposing workers to toxic substances; shipbreakers imported only 75 ships – the lowest figure for five years – for a weight of 1 million tonnes of iron plate.

Mohammed Amzad Hossain Chowdhury, Managing Director of leading shipbreaker Rising Group, has told a Bangladesh newspaper that the number of vessels imported this year could have been even higher if there had been no legal complexity. There were only some 25 shipbreaking yards three to four years ago whereas there are now 125 such facilities, generating tens of thousands of new jobs as the introduction of toxins management and a natural beaching system attract more investment to the sector, he added.