Worker Dies Bangladeshi Ship-breaking Yard

NGO Shipbreaking Platform reports that a yard worker has lost his life in an accident while scrapping a former Evergreen vessel.

The cutter man Shahidul lost his life while working at Kabir Steel’s Khawja shipbreaking yard in Chattogram (Chittagong), Bangladesh.

According to local sources, Shahidul was cutting the container ship Ever Union when he fell from a great height. He died on the spot.

Kabir Steel’s shipbreaking yards are part of the large industrial conglomerate of Kabir Group of Industries. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has documented several severe and fatal accidents in the company's yards over the last years.

In 2017 and 2018 alone, at least four workers were killed. In 2016, Kabir Steel’s private security personnel fired shots and injured seven people who were protesting following the death of shipbreaking worker Sumon.

The vessel Ever Union was beached in Bangladesh on April 19. It was owned by Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen Marine, which has been under the spotlight for its irresponsible shipbreaking practices, NGO Shipbreaking Platform said.

The vessel was sold for scrapping for more than $10 million. Before reaching the shore, the ship was renamed VERA and changed registry to the Paris MoU black-listed flag of Palau.