The BUNGA KELANA 4 was beached at Mahinur Ship Breaking six months ago. It was owned by Malaysian shipping company AET Tankers, a wholly owned subsidiary of MISC, the leading Malaysian energy logistics company listed on the Malaysia stock exchange. In 2018, AET Tankers sold four vessels for scrapping on the beaches of South Asia. Three ended up in Bangladesh; one was beached in India. 

Before its final voyage the vessel changed its name to KELANA 4, and its Malaysian flag was swapped to that of Comoros. These are clear indicators that the vessel was brought to the beaching yard with the help of a scrap-dealer known as cash buyer. The use of black- and grey-listed flags, such as Comoros, Palau and St Kitts and Nevis, as well as anonymous post-box companies to register the ships, renders it very difficult for authorities to trace and hold ship owners liable for illicit business practices that cause the loss of life, injuries and irreparable damage to the environment.

The explosion on the BUNGA KELANA 4 follows another recent tragic event that took place in February, when two workers were killed by a fire on board a tanker owned by Greek Polembros Shipping. In the last ten years, hundreds of workers have lost their lives and suffered severe injuries due to dirty and dangerous shipbreaking practices in Bangladesh. Many more suffer from exposure to toxic fumes and materials that are embedded within the ships’ structures. Breaking apart ships on tidal beaches also causes irreparable damage to the environment. Only yesterday it was revealed that another shipbreaking company, BBC Ship Breaking, had been given the permission by local authorities to wipe out a protected mangrove forest in order to establish a new yard. Following the filing of a complaint by Platform member organisation BELA, the High Court imposed a six months’ stay on the lease contract and have asked the local authorities to explain why they blatantly ignore national forest protection laws. In 2009, 14.000 mangrove trees were illegally cut to expand the shipbreaking activities in Chittagong.