The explosion at SN
Corporation’s shipbreaking yards left six workers dead and four critically
injured.
Ship owners frequently use a network of brokers to
circumvent international regulations that prohibit export of ships to
dismantling facilities in Bangladesh that do not have adequate environmental or
labour protections, said the press release.
The MT Suvarna
Swarajya was owned by the Shipping Corporation of India, then sold in March
2023 to Last Voyage DMCC and then sold the oil tanker in May to SN Corporation
in Bangladesh for dismantling, despite the company’s poor health and safety
record, with at least 14 deaths and 22 injuries since 2010 and before the sale,
added the release.
‘The tragic explosion
in one of SN Corporation’s shipbreaking yards underscores dangers of an
international regulatory system set up to profit the shipping industry rather
than protect workers’ rights and safety,’ said Julia Bleckner, senior health
and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Julia said, ‘The Hong Kong Convention and its
so-called certificates of compliance, like the one granted to SN Corporation,
create dangerous illusion that these yards are safe and environmentally
sustainable.’