SHIPBREAKING

Just as the goods they transport, ships too become waste when they reach the end of their operational lives. Yet only a fraction is handled in a safe and clean manner. The vast majority of the world's end-of-life fleet, full of toxic substances, is simply broken down - by hand - on the beaches of South Asia. There, unscrupulous shipping companies exploit minimal enforcement of environmental and safety rules to maximise profits.

Human Right

When shipbreaking workers breathe in asbestos fibers, they can contract fatal diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Asbestos fibers also cling to the worker's clothes and can contaminate other workers who live in the same shacks. Surrounding communities can be exposed to the asbestos that is hastily dumped in landfills. Workers are exposed to toxic fumes that can be carcinogenic when they cut steel with blow torches and burn waste and cables. When burned, liquid and solid polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) create some of the most hazardous substances known: dioxins and furans. Other health and pollution risks come from the release into the ocean of bilge water. Located in the lowest part of the ship’s hull, bilge water can release oil, cargo residues, inorganic salts, arsenic, copper, chromium, lead and mercury to the sea, when pumped out directly into the ocean. Similarly, organic pollution coming from sewage can cause serious health risks for workers if they breathe it in.

Environment

No precaution is taken when removing the hazardous materials from the ships. They are often just dumped on the spot, deeply contaminating the beach sands and sediments. Also coastal waters, rivers and groundwater are heavily polluted, as water currents and tides distribute the pollutants along the coast, but also further away from the beach during the monsoon season.

Children Right

It is illegal under Bangladesh’s Labour Act to employ children and adolescent workers in hazardous industries such as shipbreaking. In a recent study issued by Dr. Muhammod Shaheen Chowdhury, Professor of Law at the University of Chittagong, it was found that 13 percent of the workers were under the age of 18. Whilst exploitation of the youngest children seems to have ceased since the publication of a previous report by the Platform and member organisations YPSA and FIDH in 2008, many young teenagers between 15-17 years old are still illegally employed at the shipbreaking yards. To avoid labour inspections, they are offered work during nightshifts.