Surge of Accidents in Bangladesh Shipbreaking Yards
After having observed a decrease in the number of accidents in the shipbreaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform said it now sees a resurging accident rate for the three first quarters of 2017, with eight injuries and six deaths recorded in 10 separate incidents in the last two months alone. According to Muhammed Ali Shahin, local contact of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, “The working conditions in all the Chittagong shipbreaking yards are deplorable. So far this year, 51 out of the total 152 ships that have been beached in Chittagong are owned by European companies.
Documentary Examines Shipbreaking Practices in Bangladesh
A new documentary titled "Giftiger Tankerschrott für Bangladesch - Toxic ships for Bangladesh" will be shown this Sunday, October 26 on German state TV channel ZDF. The documentary, filmed by a team of the national German TV channel last month in Chittagong, one of the world's largest shipbreaking sites, follows Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, and Muhammed Ali Shahin, the Platform's Bangladesh project coordinator, as they meet with the workers, some of them children, and their families.
