The harsh working conditions at Gadani became widely known after the explosion on 1 November 2016, the worst tragedy in the history of shipbreaking. At least 29 workers were then killed and more than 60 workers were reported injured, many of them suffering severe burn wounds. Fires, explosions, falls from great height and falling steel blocks kill numerous workers each year at the South Asian shipbreaking yards. 

IndustriAll-affiliated Pakistan National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) has voiced strong concerns related to systemic breaches of basic labour rights and occupational health and safety. Most of the shipbreaking workers are migrant workers from the poorest parts of Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They leave their families behind as there is no appropriate housing or schooling available in Gadani. Workers lack contractual arrangements with the yard management and have to work very long hours without extra pay, no paid holidays or social benefits, such as social security and pension.

As in Chattogram and Alang-Sosiya, the shipbreaking yards operate on a tidal beach, causing pollution to both soil and water. The area is void of hazardous waste disposal facilities, so toxics are simply dumped in the sea or outside the shipbreaking plots. A recent study shows elevated concentrations of mercury and methylmercury in the Gadani shipbreaking area. Local activists have filed a complaint under the Balochistan Environmental Protection Act demanding that shipbreaking activities must operate in line with the Basel Convention. So far, the Government has not initiated the necessary changes to ensure a move of the industry to proper facilities and investments in capacity for downstream waste management. 

Following the explosion of 1 November 2016, there has been increased awareness, nationally and internationally, of the dangers faced by the workers in the shipbreaking yards in Pakistan. This led to a moratorium on the import and cutting of tankers in Gadani. The ban has since been lifted, but without concrete measures in place to prevent the recurrence of these tragedies. Berge Bulk, Eurotankers, Petrobras, Polaris Shipping and Sinokor are amongst the shipping companies that have selected dirty and dangerous scrapping in Gadani in the last twelve months.

The Platform documents the breaking of floating oil and gas units, including drill ships, floating platforms, jack-up rigs and FPSOs/FSOs. An increasing number are beached in South Asia, including units owned by Diamond Offshore, Maersk, Odebrecht, SAIPEM, SBM Offshore and Transocean. As the J. NAT, SBM’s mercury-laden tanker YETAGUN was illegally exported from Indonesia. Its scrapping on the Indian beach of Alang was investigated by Dutch media Zembla and revealed that workers were unknowingly exposed to mercury contamination.