Lloyds List reported that a Bangladesh governmental official attempted to deny that vessels dismantled using the beaching method was directly harmful to the marine environment.

Mr AKM Shafiqullah former director general of the country’s Department of Shipping said that despite confirming that the soil on Chittagong’s coastline was polluted with toxic substances, the damage was limited as very little was being washed out into the sea.

Speaking at London based ship recycling conference, Mr Shafiqullah admitted that poisonous anti fouling paint on ship hulls are polluting the beaches used for breaking, but he attempted to justify it to a shocked audience. He said that “It is true that it is polluting the soil, but only around 20% to 23% of the area on the bottom of the ship comes in touch with the ground, so it’s limited.”

Mr Shafiqullah said that “What pollution is there is much localized. It is not going everywhere.” He claimed that as Shipbreakers drove ships onto the beach during the highest tide of the month, vessels were further inland and were not surrounded by water during the majority of the dismantling process, thus very few toxic substances were washed out into the sea.

This point met with resistance from delegates at the conference, many of whom have visited the major ship breaking regions, including Chittagong in Bangladesh, and seen vessels under demolition surrounded by water.

When pushed, Capt Shafiqullah admitted that the beaches were flooded twice a day, but argued that as the tide line declined every day for two weeks within each monthly tidal cycle, dismantled ships were not constantly exposed to the sea.

The ship recycling industry in Bangladesh is worth between USD 100 million to USD 120 million a year and the scrap steel generated accounts for 80% of the 3 million tonnes the country required annually.

(Sourced from lloydslist.com)