Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said that Bangladesh is working towards the sustainable development of the ship recycling industry by upholding and implementing the Hong Kong Convention. Bangladesh is very sincere in this regard and needs full cooperation of International Maritime Organization (IMO). IMO Secretary General’s visit to Bangladesh is expected to accelerate this.
IMO Secretary General Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco said these things to the journalists present during a meeting with the minister at his office in Motijheel in the capital today.
The minister said that Bangladesh ratified the Hong Kong Convention on June 25, 2023 with the aim of reprocessing ships that have reached the end of their life in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Accordingly, Bangladesh has to comply with the convention by 26 June 2025 and ensure Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) in all yards. Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said, to sustain this potential industry of Bangladesh, necessary cooperation and advice from international maritime organizations and development partners should be implemented quickly. The minister sought IMO’s assistance in obtaining soft loans from development partners or international financial institutions for shipyard owners to comply with the Hong Kong Convention. He also sought the help of international organizations to establish training institutes for the sustainable development of the ship recycling industry.
During the meeting, the IMO Secretary General said that the Hong Kong Convention introduced by the IMO is very important for the sustainable development of the ship recycling industry. The organization is working closely with the relevant stakeholders for the sustainable, safe and environment-friendly development of this industry in Bangladesh. He said that my visit is to see the steps taken by Bangladesh in this regard and to exchange experiences. Arsenio Dominguez said, I am happy to see that the various ministries of Bangladesh are working together for the development of this industry. We are determined to provide all possible cooperation on behalf of IMO for the overall development of this industry. At this time, the Secretary General expressed hope that Bangladesh’s ship reprocessing and construction industry will reach international standards with the cooperation of Bangladesh Government and IMO.
During the meeting, the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industry (on routine duty of the Secretary) SM Alam, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United Kingdom Sayeda Muna Tasnim, Director General of the Department of Shipping Commodore Mohammad Maqsud Alam and the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industry Dr. Shah Md. Helal Uddin and others were present.
Note that Bangladesh has been recycling ships since 1980. Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong has more than hundred ship cycling yards. 50 of the said yards are operational. About 60% of the country’s overall iron ore demand comes from the ship recycling industry. About 2 lakh people are directly and indirectly dependent on this sector.