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.


- Intentionally sinking the toxic aircraft carrier São Paulo would equate to a state-sponsored environmental crime. https://t.co/efiH9KLVSI8 days ago
- Isiksan and Simsekler ship recycling yards to be axed from the EU list of approved facilities due to non-complia… https://t.co/qwrPN6YPjb39 days ago
- Shrinking cargo volumes in the container sector. We encourage Wan Hai to show true leadership by opting for sustain… https://t.co/EreSbQwowW44 days ago
- RT @EU_ENV: Today, we adopted the European List of ship recycling facilities It contains 45 shipyards from Europe, & , and all larg…45 days ago
Related news

Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #21
There were a total of 166 ships broken in the first quarter of 2020. Of these, 126 ships were sold to the beaches of South Asia for dirty and dangerous breaking.
... Read More
Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #8
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform publishes today the eighth South Asia Quarterly Update, a briefing paper in which it informs about the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh, India and… Read More

Press Release – The hypocrisy of better beaches: winners of the “Public Eye Investigation Award” shed light on shipbreaking in Alang and Swiss companies’ involvement
Gie Goris and Nicola Mulinaris received Public Eye’s “Investigation Award”.
... Read More
Platform publishes South Asia Quarterly Update #32
Eight workers suffered an accident on South Asian beaches in the last quarter of 2022.
... Read More
Press Release – NGOs release new report on North Sea oil and gas recycling
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform released today a report on offshore decommissioning during a seminar held in Oslo, Norway.
... Read More
The Toxic Tide – 2021 Shipbreaking Records
2021 shipbreaking records: most shipping companies continue to opt for the highest price at the worst scrapping yards.
... Read More
Press Release – Polluting shipbreaking practices threaten Ghanian shores
Ship demolition is causing marine pollution in Kpone and surrounding towns.
... Read More
Platform News – ‘With Bare Hands’: an immersive journey into the problems of shipbreaking
International media outlets publish ‘With bare hands’, the first multimedia and data-driven reporting project that documents the negative impacts on the environment and the human costs of… Read More