A fire broke out onboard an oil tanker beached at the Shagorika Ship Breaking Yard in Bangladesh, resulting in the death of two workers.
The fire started from the engine room of the 2000-built VLCC Greek Warrior. One worker was severely injured and died after being sent to hospital, and another worker’s body was found onboard the vessel later.
According to NGO Shipbreaking Platform, the vessel was sold to the shipbreaking yard by Greek company Polembros Shipping in 2018 and changed its name to S Warrior and flag from Panama to Palau before its final voyage. The cash buyer involved in the sale was India’s Prayati Shipping.
NGO Shipbreaking Platform says the owner has sent at least 24 old ships to South Asian beaches and half of them reached the shores of Bangladesh in the last ten years.
“With more than 900 vessels beached since 2009, Greek owners top the list of global dumpers by far,” NGO Shipbreaking Platform said in a release.
“It is about time that the Greek government puts an end to the appalling shipbreaking practices of its shipping industry and holds it liable for the irreparable damages caused by beaching. The EU has set a standard that should be followed by Greek ship owners, even when not sailing their vessels under an EU flag,” said Ingvild Jenssen, executive director of NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
Fire on board Greek tanker kills two shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh ► https://t.co/bgnSbpakIW | #shipbreaking #humanrights #environment #waste #shipping #CSR pic.twitter.com/PwWugc81Mp
— NGO Shipbreaking Platform (@NGOShipbreaking) February 18, 2019