Govt forms committee to review ship industry laws

The government has formed a high-level committee comprising ministers and secretaries to review existing laws, rules, policies and other relevant issues concerning the country’s ship industry and recommend necessary reforms.

The Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification in this regard on July 12.

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According to the notification, the minister for environment, forests and climate change will chair the committee. Its members are the minister for industries, the state minister for shipping, the cabinet secretary, the finance secretary, the secretary of the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, and the secretary of the Ministry of Industries.

The notification says the committee will review existing laws, rules, policies and other relevant issues related to shipbuilding, ship recycling and shipbreaking industries, and formulate necessary recommendations.

The committee will review existing laws, rules, policies and other issues related to shipbuilding, ship recycling and shipbreaking

The committee may co-opt members, if necessary, while the Ministry of Industries will provide secretarial support.

Stakeholders in the sector welcomed the move, saying they have long been facing various regulatory complexities and hope the committee will address those issues.

Bangladesh’s shipbreaking industry is centred along the Sitakunda coast in Chattogram. While there were once more than 150 shipbreaking yards in the area, only 23 have so far been converted into green ship recycling yards as the industry shifts from conventional practices.

Taslim Uddin, owner of KR Shipbreaking Yard and the country’s largest importer of scrap ships in the last fiscal year, said ship recyclers have long faced complications over land-use approvals.

“For years, we obtained permission from the deputy commissioner’s office to operate our yards. But over the past few years, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has required us to obtain another approval after the Sitakunda coast was declared a port area. This means we have to secure permission from two authorities for the same piece of land,” he told The Daily Star.

“There is no other sector in Bangladesh that has to go through such a process. We believe the government has not given sufficient attention to these issues. Now that the committee has been formed, we will place our concerns before it.”

Nazmul Islam, secretary of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), said the industry’s classification is another longstanding concern.

“Shipbreaking was once classified as an orange-category industry, but it was upgraded to the red category a few years ago. As a result, imported ships often have to remain anchored for days while waiting for environmental clearance, causing financial losses,” he said.

“We have repeatedly requested that the industry be restored to its previous classification. We will raise the issue with the new committee.”

Labour leaders also welcomed the committee but said previous committees had largely favoured yard owners, leaving workers’ concerns unaddressed.

Tapan Dutta, convener of the Shipbreaking Trade Union Forum, said workers are still not receiving fair wages despite the wage structure announced in 2021.

“Owners have invested crores of taka in upgrading their yards, but workers’ lives have not improved. We welcome the committee and will urge it to determine wages in line with present realities. Given the hazardous nature of this work, risk allowances and other benefits should also be included,” he said.