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Dhaka bans toxic material-laden ship

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: The Bangladesh Government has banned a decommissioned Norwegian cruise liner, SS Norway, from entering the country's territorial waters as it allegedly carries toxic materials.

Environment and Forest Minister Tariqul Islam said, "We have information that the ship is carrying toxic materials like asbestos and mono-carbon and I have asked the authorities concerned to keep vigil so that it cannot enter our territory."

Agencies alerted

The navy, the port authorities and the National Board of Revenue have also been alerted as the Government fears some unscrupulous businessmen may try to bring such ships to Bangladesh, he said.

The announcement came in the wake of media reports that a local merchant had made an offer to buy SS Norway to scrap it at the Sitakunda breaking yard in Chittagong.

Greenpeace has warned that the vessel is carrying 1,250 tonnes of asbestos and that it would pose a serious health risk to workers who dismantle it. The Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association served a notice on the relevant agencies, threatening to take legal action if the ship was allowed into Bangladesh's territorial waters.

Hajji Lokman Hakim, a ship merchant based in Chittagong, offered to buy the ship for $12 million, much less than its market price, and was in the final stages of negotiations.

However, reports from Chittagong said the merchant had decided to cancel the deal in the face of the Government ban.

The vessel, commissioned in 1960 as SS France and renamed SS Norway after a Norwegian bought it in 1979, is now docked in open water off the Malaysian coast.

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