CHATTOGRAM, May 09: Chattogram's shipbreaking yards have been reclassified from orange to red environmental status by the Department of Environment (DoE), according to the recently published Environment Protection Regulations-2023.
This means that wreckers must now obtain separate environmental clearance for each vessel before dismantling can begin.
While the move has been criticised by industry representatives for potentially causing delays, complications and official harassment, environmentalists have welcomed the development.
They had been lobbying for the status change since 2021 when the shipbreaking industry was labelled as less eco-hazardous under the Orange-B category.
Under the Environment Protection Rules-1997, the shipbreaking industry in Chattogram was classified as Orange-B category, which aimed to control environmental pollution from the industry.
However, on November 14, 2007, an executive order reclassified the industry as red and introduced strict measures.
After objections from yard owners and a recommendation from the Ship Recycling Board under the Ministry of Industries, the Ministry of Forest Environment and Climate Change reclassified the shipbreaking industry from the red to Orange-B category in an executive order on November 19, 2021.
Just over a year later, on April 26 2023, the ministry published the Environment Protection Regulations-2023, reclassifying the industry back to red.
According to shipyard owners, this has resulted in unnecessary complications, delays, harassment, and losses for them.
The Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA) has expressed concern that the industry has been reclassified without taking the opinions of stakeholders and the Ship Recycling Board into account.
The association President Md Abu Taher said, "The environment rules have placed the shipbreaking industry in the red category, obligating entrepreneurs to obtain a second round of clearance from the office of the Director General of the DoE for each ship prior to dismantling."
"This will result in an additional delay of one and a half to two months in obtaining permission for shipbreaking. Industrial entrepreneurs are also afraid of facing additional complications and harassment," he added.
During a recent meeting of the association, industry leaders and entrepreneurs expressed fears of financial loss due to the failure to dismantle ships within the stipulated time frame due to the complications.
They have demanded a simplified ship classification process by reclassifying them from red to Orange-B class.
According to sources, the shipbreaking began in 1970 in Sitakunda area of Chattogram, with around 40,000 workers employed in the industry.
Bangladesh currently imports more than 30 lakh metric tonnes of scrap ships, which is over 25 per cent of the world's total scrap vessels. The shipbreaking industry has a turnover of around Tk 5,000 crore per year.
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