Bangladesh Shipbreaking Yard Fined $4,000 After Toxic Gas Exposure Kills Nine Workers

Bangladesh’s Department of Environment has fined Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries Tk 500,000 ($4,000) for operating without a valid environmental clearance, days after nine workers died in a toxic gas accident at the shipbreaking yard.

The fine was imposed after a hearing at the department’s Chittagong regional office on Aug. 19, five days after the accident.

The company’s environmental clearance had expired in 2024 and had not been renewed, according to the Department of Environment.

Ferdous Steel has seven working days to pay the fine. The yard has also been ordered to stop all shipbreaking work until its environmental clearance is renewed. The owner’s representative admitted to the violation during the hearing.

The environmental violation is separate from the cause of the workers’ deaths. However, it was found during an inspection carried out after the accident and is the first penalty reported against the yard following the incident.

Nine workers died aboard the vessel

The accident happened on Aug. 14 at about 8:30 a.m. at the Ferdous Steel yard in Sitakunda, Chattogram.

The workers were cutting up the vessel Rasi when they were exposed to toxic gas inside a ballast tank. Nine workers died and several others were injured.

An inspection later detected hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, at 10.8 parts per million inside the vessel. The finding suggested that the gas may have accumulated in the enclosed space.

However, a later inspection by the Fire Service found methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia in two compartments and did not detect hydrogen sulfide.

The exact reason for the gas buildup has not yet been established.

The vessel had been out of service and on the beach for more than a year. Inspectors later found black sludge in three of its ballast tanks. Water samples from the tanks have been sent to a chemical laboratory for testing.

Hydrogen sulfide can form when organic material breaks down without oxygen. It is a known danger in confined spaces, particularly where wastewater or other organic material is present. Investigators have not yet determined how the gas reached dangerous levels inside the tank.

Shipbreaking operations suspended

The Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board ordered Ferdous Steel to stop operations on Aug. 14, shortly after the accident.

BSRB Director General Shafiul Alam Talukder said the suspension would remain until the authorities review inspection and investigation reports.

He said the yard could remain closed if investigators find negligence and conclude that it cannot safely resume work. If the findings show that the yard can operate safely, authorities may consider other measures, including fines under factory and labour laws.

The Department of Environment has separately ordered the yard to remain closed until its environmental clearance is renewed.

The department warned that continuing shipbreaking work despite the order could lead to further legal action, including a court case. It has also asked the company to provide information about its current waste-management practices.

The yard’s administration has been handed over to the local administration.

Three committees investigating the accident

Three committees have been formed to investigate the deaths. They were set up by the Industries Ministry, the Chattogram district administration and the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board.

The shipping ministry has also launched a formal investigation into the accident.

As of Aug. 15, police had not filed a case over the deaths. Moinul Islam, officer in charge of Sitakunda Police Station, said police had not received a complaint from the victims’ families or instructions from higher authorities to file a case.

Authorities are also working to identify the bodies of the workers who died.

A contractor has been hired to remove any remaining hazards from the ballast tanks. Inspectors have warned that hydrogen sulfide could still be dissolved in the contaminated water inside the tanks, so the removal work must be carried out carefully.

References: networkbangladesh, tbsnews