The Evolution of Bangladesh’s Ship Recycling Industry

Draft amendments to Bangladesh’s ship recycling and hazardous waste management legislation have been developed to align the shipbreaking industry with international environmental standards and safety regulations, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has revealed.

According to IMO, the proposed amendments were presented and reviewed during a February 2025 workshop held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

During the event, ‘key’ government and private sector stakeholders reportedly sought to find ways to bring the nation’s shipbreaking sector in line with the “Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships,” which Bangladesh ratified in 2023.

In addition to this, the workshop explored how the sector could be aligned with the most important provisions of the Basel, Rotterdam as well as Stockholm conventions.

As informed, this endeavor was initiated through the IMO’s Safe and environmentally sound ship recycling (SENSREC) project, funded by the Government of Norway. The project’s all-embracing goal is described as ‘supporting developing countries in implementing the Hong Kong Convention and promoting sustainable practices in ship recycling.’

It is understood that the commentary and insights from the workshop are planned to be compiled into a draft proposal by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Industries after which it will be circulated to relevant government branches for final feedback before submission for approval.

The Hong Kong Convention: A turning point for safety or ongoing challenge?

These regulatory efforts come at a crucial time for the global ship recycling industry.

With thousands of vessels expected to reach the end of their operational lives by 2032, pressure is mounting to ensure that shipbreaking practices adhere to higher safety and environmental guidelines. The enforcement of the Hong Kong Convention in June this year is hoped to play a ‘big’ role in this transition.

That said, concerns remain over the convention’s effectiveness in ‘truly’ addressing the dangerous state that persists in some recycling hubs.

A new guidance paper from Norway-based classification society DNV, for instance, underscores the convention’s importance but also highlights ongoing challenges—particularly in regions where shipbreaking has been linked to unsafe work environments and ecological risks, such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.

Namely, data suggests that these three South Asian countries have seen the highest number of commercial and offshore units being scrapped on their beaches. Per the Belgium-headquartered NGO Shipbreaking Platform, 85% of the global end-of-life fleet was dismantled on a beach in either of the abovementioned countries in 2023.

What is more, the NGO revealed in early February 2025 that as much as 80% of scrapped ships in 2024 were dismantled under substandard conditions in the same regions.

Bangladesh has consistently ranked as the leading destination for ship scrapping, but the country’s shipbreaking and recycling sector has attracted attention because of a string of accidents that have happened over the years due to more often than not sub-par working conditions.

Although it was certified under the Hong Kong Convention’s guidelines, one yard in Chattogram made headlines when a tanker exploded during a dismantling operation in September 2024, injuring 12 people, of whom six passed away.

The NGO Shipbreaking platform concluded that this was just one example of a series of tragic incidents that have plagued the industry in Bangladesh, accentuating the need for stronger enforcement of safety regulations and better oversight of (certified) yards.