Breaking News

17 March 2009
Victory for Safe Jobs and the Environment:
High Court Halts Deadly Shipbreaking on the Beaches of Bangladesh
As a result of a petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), the Bangladeshi High Court has directed the Department of Environment (DoE) to ensure that all shipbreaking yards operating without environmental clearance close their operations within two weeks. None of the 36 shipbreaking yards in Chittagong currently have an environmental clearance. The decision therefore effectively shuts down an industry that has been highly criticized by environmentalists and human rights activists for many years for operating with complete disregard for the law, human health and the environment. The court also ordered that no ship listed on the “Greenpeace list” of dangerous ships can be allowed into the country. BELA and Greenpeace are member organizations of the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking, a global coalition working to promote safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.