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The Ministry of Industries has asked Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board (BSRB) to take necessary measures to issue DASR in favour of compliant yards for operating their ship recycling activities in line with the Hong Kong Convention.
To this effect, the ministry on Wednesday issued a notification, acknowledging the necessity of issuance of the DASR (document of authorisation for ship recycling) after the final approval of the Ship Recycling Facilities Plan (SRFP) under the Hong Kong Convention.
Bangladesh had ratified the Hong Kong Convention in 2023, which came into force on June 26.
Such a move came following a recent appeal from the ship breakers and recyclers in this regard.
"In this situation, until the laws, rules and policies are updated to implement the Hong Kong Convention, it is requested to take necessary measures to issue DASR in favour of compliant yards to conduct ship recycling activities in line with the Convention," the notification said.
Following the instruction, according to sources, the BSRB on Thursday decided to issue the DASR and requested ship recycling facilities (SRF) to apply for the same.
The DASR will be issued to yards, SRF plans of those have got approval from industries ministry, a source said.
However, the SRFs those are yet to be compliant in line with the Convention and do not receive the SOC (statement of compliance) will require to submit a transitional plan with a gap analysis of progress within the stipulated timeframe by an accredited organisation.
According to the sector insiders, a total of 14 ship-breaking yards are compliant ones while more than a dozen are in the process of upgradation.
Some seven Bangladeshi yards have so far obtained SoC with the Hong Kong Convention, according to NSP (NGO Shipbreaking Platform), a global coalition advocating for safer and greener dismantling practices.
munni_fe@yahoo.com