The death toll has risen further from a devastating explosion on a tanker being scrapped in Bangladesh.
The blast took place on 7 September on board the 32,900-dwt Swarajya (ex-Suvarna Swarajya, built 1998), which was beached on the Chattogram plot of SN Corp in April this year.
TradeWinds reported at the time that one worker had died, with 11 others critically injured.
Now lobby groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform have revealed six people have died, with four more still in critical condition.
The blast reportedly took place in the pump room of the partially demolished tanker.
SN Corp, which operates three yards in the Chattogram vicinity, is one of the few recycling companies in Bangladesh certified by the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
“The tragic explosion at one of SN Corp’s ship-breaking yards underscores the dangers of an international regulatory system set up to profit the shipping industry rather than protect workers’ rights and safety,” said Julia Bleckner, a senior Asia researcher at HRW.
“The Hong Kong Convention and its so-called certificates of compliance, like the one granted to SN Corp, create the dangerous illusion that these yards are safe and environmentally sustainable,” she added.
Bangladesh’s department of environment and ministry of industry have suspended all operations at SN Corp yards until further notice.
An SN Corp manager described the accident to the Financial Express as unfortunate but stated that the company followed the safety rules for workers.
SN Corp has been contacted for further comment.
Previous accident on same tanker
According to data collected by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, among the casualties at yards owned by SN Corp since 2010, six injuries occurred earlier in 2024 across its three facilities.
Two of them were on the Suvarna Swarajya in May, when a falling pipe broke one worker’s leg and a steel rope injured another worker’s hand.
In 2021, one worker at an SN Corp yard died when he fell from a ship during a cutting operation. In 2020, another worker died when he was hit by a falling metal cable.
“The fire on the Suvarna Swarajya is a grave and revolting reminder both of the shipbreaking sector’s failure to comply with national requirements and of the weak standards set by the Hong Kong Convention,” said NGO Shipbreaking Platform executive director Ingvild Jenssen.
“It calls for action also at the international level to put a halt to practices that cause irreparable damage, including by taking apart ships laden with toxic substances on tidal mudflats,” she added.
