Legal regulation of the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh: The international regulatory framework and domestic implementation challenges Shawkat Alam a , Abdullah Faruque b,n a Centre for Environmental Law, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia b Chittagong University, Bangladesh article info Article history: Received 23 July 2013 Received in revised form 29 January 2014 Accepted 29 January 2014 Available online 26 February 2014 Keywords: Ship breaking industry Bangladesh Basel Convention Hazardous waste Environmental pollution Recycling of ships abstract Shipbreaking is the process of dismantling an obsolete vessel for scrapping or disposal. This activity was not officially declared an industry in Bangladesh until 2006, even though the country is one of the biggest ship-breakers in the world. This industry has dramatically expanded in Bangladesh, at the cost of environmental degradation and severe labour exploitation. Despite environmental and human rights violations, the shipbreaking industry represents a vital source of income for the country and a livelihood for a significant portion of its population. Shipbreaking activities in Bangladesh present both opportu- nities and challenges for Bangladesh. This article examines the extent to which the existing regulatory framework for dealing with these issues in Bangladesh is congruent with international instruments. This article also examines relevant international instruments which prescribe the core principles for regulating the ship breaking industry and evaluates the legal regulation of the Bangladesh ship breaking industry against these international instruments. The underlying objective of this evaluation is to demonstrate that Bangladeshi instruments could incorporate the core of the international instruments to minimise the environmental damage caused by this industry. This article concludes that Bangladesh should either amend its laws or enact a new legislative scheme that is based on the core values of the Basel Convention. This change is vital if Bangladesh wants to ensure a long lasting industry that could serve its need for iron ore and engage its abundant labour force, without the cost of destroying its coastal line which is one of its most valuable natural assets. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Shipbreaking is the process of dismantling an obsolete vessel for scrapping or disposal. This activity was not officially declared an industry in Bangladesh until 2006, even though the country is one of the biggest ship-breakers in the world. Since 1974, Bangla- desh has had approximately 50 shipbreaking yards that have dismantled about 52 per cent of the end-of-life vessels above 200 dead weight tonnage in the world. 1 The booming activity in the port cities of this country is mainly driven by the suitable climate of this long and flat intertidal coastal zone; the abundant supply of cheap labour; and the lax environmental regulations. Based on these factors, this industry has dramatically expanded in Bangladesh, at the cost of environmental degradation and severe labour exploitation. Despite environmental and human rights violations, the shipbreaking industry represents a vital source of income for the country and a livelihood for a significant portion of its population. Shipbreaking activities in these yards present both opportu- nities and challenges for Bangladesh; they provide Bangladesh's main source of iron, but it is also a source of environmental Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol Marine Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2014.01.022 0308-597X & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: shawkat.alam@mq.edu.au (S. Alam), faruquecu71@yahoo.com (A. Faruque). 1 In this country, Chittagong Steel House first scrapped a Greek ship, the “M.D. Alpine” in1964. The introduction of commercial ship breaking in this country began in 1974 when Karnafully Metal Works Ltd. bought a damaged Pakistani ship, the “Al Abbas”. See, Hossain MM, Islam MM. Shipbreaking activities and its impact on the coastal zone of Chittagong, Bangladesh: towards sustainable management. (footnote continued) Chittagong: Young Power in Social Action; 2006: 5; Hossain MS, et al. Occupational health hazards of ship scrapping workers at Chittagong coastal zone, Bangladesh. Chiang Mai Journal of Science 2008; 35(2): 370–371. Marine Policy 47 (2014) 46–56