Comply with the Hong Kong Convention and fully convert to green yards, or leave the business altogether – Brigadier General (retd) Sakhawat Hossain, adviser to the shipping ministry, has warned Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry.

“All shipbreaking yards were supposed to be converted to green yards by June 26 in line with the Hong Kong Convention. However, only 14 yards have obtained certification so far. We plan to request a six-month extension at the upcoming IMO meeting in November, but even then, those who fail to meet the standards must shut down,” he told journalists after inspecting the Kabir Ship Recycling Facility in Sitakunda today.

Despite Bangladesh being the global leader in shipbreaking, it lags far behind in establishing environmentally compliant, or ‘green’, yards. “There is enormous potential to build a world-class industry, but previous governments failed to pay attention. As a result, this sector has fallen behind,” Sakhawat added.
Source: Business Standard