Bangladesh dismantling 210 ships in 2013, became the third largest ship breaking nation in the world. In 2012, it was the second largest ship breaker.
In 2013, some 1,119 ships went to the world's ship breakers' yards, also a decline of 16 per cent over 2012 which was an "exceptional year," a France-based environmental watchdog Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) said in its recent revelation.
Chairman of Ananda Shipyard Dr Abdullahel Bari said the number of ships scrapped across the world has been decreasing.
He held the global economic recession and imposition of environment-related rules and regulations responsible for the decline in the number of ships being dismantled.
According to the industry people, Bangladesh became the second in 2012, scrapping around 270 ships. Bangladesh was the top ship recycling nation from 2004-2009.
Bangladesh's place in the industry started to fall since 2009 due to new rules and regulations, environmentalists' movement and a decreasing demand of the ship-building and construction sector.
Ship breaking is a lucrative business with few risks for the yard owners, investors and money lenders. The ship breaking industry in Bangladesh is estimated to be worth around 1.5 billion US dollars annually, the industry people said.
In terms of number, three South Asian countries accounted for 50 per cent of ships dismantled, but, in terms of tonnage, they accounted for 71 per cent, Robin des Bois said.
It is the second highest tally since 2006, when the group began compiling annual reports in an effort to boost transparency in the sector with a contested environmental record.
India came in on the top with 2.8 million tonnes or 31 per cent of total metal recycled globally, while Bangladesh and Pakistan accounted for 2.3 million tonnes (25 per cent) and 1.4 million tonnes (15 per cent) respectively.
India, being the world leader, broke 343 ships, or about 26 per cent of total ships demolished while Pakistan stood fifth on the list with 104 ships or eight per cent respectively.
India was at the top of the list in both categories, but China was also a big player, ranking second in the number of ships that it demolished and third in terms of tonnage. Pakistan came in fifth (by number of ships) and fourth (by tonnage).
Turkey captured a significant market as it came in fourth by number of ships, tearing down 136 ships (10 per cent) and fifth by tonnage with 514,000 tonnes (six per cent).
Of the 1,119 ships, 667 were scrapped after being held at ports, along with their crew, for failing to meet international safety standards, the report said.
"Port inspections are playing a solid role in cleaning up the world's merchant fleet," it said.
Roughly a third of ships that were broken up were bulk carriers, while container ships accounted for one in six - a sharp rise over the last six years.
According to the report, out of 1,119 ships that were scrapped in 2013, 387 were bulker, 245 cargo, 180 container ships, 164 containers and 39 Ro Ro.
BD now third largest ship breaking nation
Ismail Hossain | Published: January 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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