Press Release – Worker dies at Kabir Steel’s shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh
Yesterday, cutter man Shahidul lost his life while working at Kabir Steel’s Khawja shipbreaking yard in Chattogram (f.k.a. Chittagong), Bangladesh. According to local sources, Shahidul was cutting the container ship EVER UNION (IMO 9116618) when he fell from a great height. He died on the spot.
Kabir Steel’s shipbreaking yards are part of the large industrial conglomerate of Kabir Group of Industries. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has documented several severe and fatal accidents in the company's yards over the last years. In 2017 and 2018 alone, at least four workers were killed. In 2016, Kabir Steel’s private security personnel fired shots and injured seven people who were protesting following the death of shipbreaking worker Sumon.

The vessel EVER UNION was beached in Bangladesh on April 19. It was owned by Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen Marine, which has been under the spotlight for its irresponsible shipbreaking practices. In January 2018, Norwegian Central Bank announced its decision to exclude Evergreen from the Government Pension Fund Global, due to the ship owner poor management of its end-of-life ships and the sale of these for dirty and dangerous breaking on the infamous beach of Chattogram. Since then, the company has clearly not changed its policy. Five vessels, including the EVER UNION, ended up in Bangladesh this year. Three of them were allegedly sold to shipbreaking yards owned by Kabir Steel.
The EVER UNION was sold for scrapping for more than $10 million. Before reaching the shore, the ship was renamed VERA and changed registry to the Paris MoU black-listed flag of Palau. According to maritime databases, the company Nabeel Ship Management, based in the United Arab Emirates, is linked to the end-of-life sale. Nabeel has been recently involved in the attempted illegal export of the vessel HARRIER from Norway, where police investigations, now headed by the financial crimes division, are still ongoing.
Despite activities being slow due to the monsoon rains, accidents keep occurring. According to Platform’s member organisation YPSA, another worker lost his life in Chattogram in the beginning of July. Md Mamun Hossen, 35 years old, died at Tahsin Steel Corporation yard.


Related news

Press Release – Maersk end-of-life vessels to hit the beaches again. NGOs denounce container ship company’s step back to boost profits
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform and Transport and Environment (T&E) denounce Maersk Group’s decision to beach their end-of-life vessels in India [1]. The world’s leading container ship owner… Read More

Platform News – Dead U.S. Ship on Four-Month Tow Ends on Indian Beach
The HORIZON TRADER, a 42 year-old American built and operated container ship, was beached earlier this month at the notorious shipbreaking site of Alang, India, despite the… Read More

Press Release – Europe has capacity to recycle its ships, new data shows – yet shipowners want to use dangerous, polluting yards abroad
Ship recycling yards approved by the EU will have enough capacity to handle demand from EU-flagged ships that need to be scrapped, a new analysis shows. The… Read More

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #38
Four workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the second quarter of 2024.
... Read More
Press Release – Indian authority shuts NGOs out from Alang yards
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform expresses dismay over the continued failure of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to be transparent and to grant civil society access to see… Read More

Press Release – Province shuts down hazardous shipbreaking at Union Bay
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform celebrates British Columbia’s decision to cancel the Crown land lease held by Deep Water Recovery Ltd. (DWR) in Union Bay, effectively halting… Read More

Press Release – Platform publishes list of ships dismantled worldwide in 2024
409 ships were dismantled globally in 2024, of which 255 ended up in South Asian yards. Bangladesh remains the shipping industry’s first choice for scrapping, despite grave consequences for workers, local communities and fragile coastal ecosystems.
... Read More