Bangladesh imported a total of 156 ships for dismantling during the first half of 2021, which is more than 110 per cent higher than that of the same period last year.
As a result, the country regained the top position of importing scrapped vessels, according to a global coalition.
During the January-June period of 2020, the country brought only 74 scrapped ships, according to the data released by NGO Ship-breaking Platform (NSP).
Bangladesh dismantled 144 ships in 2020 and 236 in 2019.
The NSP is a global coalition of organisations working to reverse the environmental harm and human rights abuses caused by ship-breaking practices and to ensure the safe and environmentally sound dismantling of end-of-life ships worldwide.
The ship-breakers said ship import started falling in the second half of 2019 and later declined further due to the pandemic and virus-led shutdown in Bangladesh.
During the period under review, a total of 462 ships were broken in the world and some 352 of them were sold to the beaches of South Asia including Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan where conditions are known to put workers' lives and the environment at risk, said the platform.
India imported a total of 124 scrapped ships during the first half of 2021, up from 95 in the January-June period of 2020.
Pakistan dismantled 72 ships, followed by Turkey 54, European Union 53, and China 3.
During the second quarter of 2021, ship owners of the United Arab Emirates sold the most ships to South Asian yards, closely followed by Greek, Singaporean, and South Korean owners, data showed.
Almost one-third of the ships sold to South Asia in the second quarter changed flag to the registries of Comoros, Gabon, Palau and St. Kitts and Nevis just weeks before hitting the beach.
These flags are not typically used during the operational life of ships and offer 'last voyage registration' discounts.
They are particularly popular with the middlemen scrap-dealers that purchase vessels in cash from the ship owners and are grey- and black-listed due to their poor implementation of international maritime law, said the platform.
The South Asian governments have taken various steps to control the rate of infections of Covid-19, which led to impose lockdowns.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for South Asia healthcare systems and people's lives especially for the poor labour class in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
The second wave, which started in April last, led to new lockdowns in the three countries, and is bringing to the surface core issues of inadequate governmental management, it said.
Regarding Bangladesh, it said the country was under a nationwide lockdown in April last though industrial activity including ship-breaking was allowed to operate.
As hospitals came under crippling pressure in the country, oxygen supplies from the yards were diverted for medical assistance, it said.
On June 28 last, it added, Bangladesh announced yet another national lockdown that ended on Tuesday as the Delta variant cases were surging.
In Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where 90 per cent of the world's end-of-life tonnage is broken down, hazardous wastes are simply dumped, or managed in an unlawful way that puts both local communities and the environment at risk, it noted.
There is a lack of proper infrastructure, equipment and procedures to fully contain and safely dispose of hazardous wastes, it added.
Between April and June last, three workers lost their lives and at least eight severely injured when breaking ships in Bangladesh, it recorded.
When contacted, Abu Taher, president of Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, said that majority of the yards out of 150 remained closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and only 50 were operational.
Though the number of imported ships was higher in last six months compared to last year, the weights were much lower, he said, claiming that they were passing a difficult time.
He, however, ruled out the allegation of employers' negligence for accidents.
There were accidents in other sectors too and the average number of deaths is declining at the yards gradually, he said, adding that they have taken preventive safety measures.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com