An overview
The Hong Kong Convention makes shipbreaking in South Asia safer and cleaner
It was tense right up to the end, but enough countries ratified the Hong Kong Convention at the very last minute. As a result, shipbreaking, one of the most dangerous industrial sectors in the world, is becoming safer and cleaner. It was a long struggle and a lot of work still needs to be done. For over fifteen years, Mondiaal FNV has fought for the convention and for an improvement in the working conditions of shipbreakers. What have Mondiaal FN
Foto: iStock/Natialiia Milko
One of the world's most dangerous professions
Climbing a towering shipwreck without any protection against falls. Handling and dismantling metal with bare hands. Entering a ship’s hold without a gasmask or even just a face mask. Working between piles of uncovered asbestos. Welcome to the world of shipbreaking. It is for good reason that demolishing ships is billed as one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.
Massive explosion at Gadani shipyard
Exposed to high risks and barely protected, hundreds of thousands of men working in shipbreaking in mainly India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are earning a meagre wage. Numerous disasters have occurred and continue to do so: for example, the accident on 2 November 2016 at the Gadani shipyard in Pakistan, which is the third largest in the world. Although it was a requirement, the holds of the oil tanker Aces had not been cleared of hazardous substances beforehand. As a result, the shipbreakers’ cutting torches caused a massive explosion. Because many workers had not been registered, the exact number of casualties involved in the accident has never been clear. The lowest estimate is 26, the highest is several hundreds. The bitter irony is that the workers had campaigned against the unsafe working conditions only two days before the explosion. When authorities gave permission to resume demolishing the Aces one year later, the tanker caught fire again. No work had been done to the ship between accidents.
Responsible ship recycling through the Hong Kong Convention
To put an end to such incidents of abuse, in cooperation with its partners, Mondiaal FNV has been lobbying for responsible shipbreaking since the beginning of the century. And these efforts have paid off. Bangladesh and Liberia signed an agreement in June 2023, meaning that the criterion had been met with regard to the fact that at least fifteen countries that jointly make up 40 percent of the global shipping industry in gross tonnage needed to ratify the Hong Kong Convention. The fact that Pakistan followed later, was pure profit. Bangladesh, India, China, and Pakistan make up the top four countries in the area of dismantling ships and recycling, and together they account for at least 87 percent of global shipbreaking activities. From 26 June 2025, the official effective date of the Hong Kong Convention, there will be far more supervision of shipbreaking and recycling, and the workers in shipyards will be in a much better position.
What did Mondiaal FNV and its partners do to achieve this success?
- Lobbying. At the international level, Mondiaal FNV lobbied mainly with global union federation IndustriALL Global Union, under which shipbreaking falls. Owing to its international character, IndustriALL was able to help establish a global standard that prevents shipbreaking from continuing to be a race to the bottom. For this purpose, among others, governments and shipowners were targeted. At the national level, Mondiaal FNV engaged in lobbying activities with, among others, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners (Koninklijke Vereniging van Nederlandse Reders, abbreviated to KVNR). As a shipping nation, the Netherlands is an important party, but it was in no hurry to ratify the convention.
- Training. Since 2012, the FNV has let active trade unionists from Dutch shipyards organise safety training at Asian shipyards. They teach the workers basic principles such as lifting in a responsible manner, for example, and explain the different colours of the pipes so that workers do not use cutting torches on gas pipes. The workers are also taught how to extinguish different types of fires. Considerable attention is paid to cooperating and communicating. At a later stage, train-the-trainer courses and online courses followed. A total of 183 people took part in the training sessions, and 65 of them went on to conduct training sessions themselves. Workers reported that the training courses had clearly prevented a number of potentially fatal casualties.
- Providing financial support. The funds provided by Mondiaal FNV and the FNV have been used to support the activities of IndustriALL and the national trade unions in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. In addition, trade union people and shipyard workers were able to travel to the Netherlands to tell their stories and strengthen the lobbying activities.
- Promoting social dialogue. Mondiaal FNV, the FNV, and IndustriALL support national unions in the shipbreaking countries in entering into a social dialogue with employers in the sector. This is important because employers are ultimately the ones who need to take the measures that arise from the Hong Kong Convention and national legislation.
However, it is not a matter of the ratifying countries simply waiting until the convention officially comes into force. Instead, they need to have taken the steps necessary to be able to ratify it. Improvements are already visible in the following three categories.
- Legislation.India in particular has made strides in this respect. Because it was initially regarded as recycling, shipbreaking was not covered by labour legislation. But it is now. In cooperation with the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is currently developing national legislation based on the Hong Kong Convention. However, the other ratifying countries will also have to do so.
- Improvements in the workplace. Several shipyards have constructed paved surfaces so that the work no longer needs to be carried out on the beach. Oil residues are now collected in gutters, while asbestos is stored separately and covered. Cranes and magnetic vehicles are now available to transport heavy steel plates. Workers are given better instructions and protective equipment, and first-aid stations have been set up. In general, the situation in India is best, as several sites there are already regarded as green shipbreaking yards, but Pakistan and Bangladesh are still lagging behind.
- Compensation. After accidents and disasters, victims’ bodies were often dumped into the sea without their families being notified. There was no compensation whatsoever, although this is currently changing. In India, after years of fighting, six widows were granted widows' and orphans' pensions. The trade unions and their international partners are lobbying for the right to compensation also to be laid down by law in the shipbreaking countries.
Recycling of materials from ships
Photo: Roderick Polak
A great deal has already been achieved but a lot of work still remains to be done. It is important that as many shipyards as possible invest in safe and green operations, because otherwise, based on the cost, shipowners will turn to shipyards that are less committed in this respect. In addition to shipyard operations, the recycling of materials that come from ships should be addressed more responsibly.
Currently this recycling is often done in miserable conditions at home or in small workshops, and mainly by women. To process plastic anchor ropes into pellets, for example, the women immerse the ropes in baths containing corrosive liquids, which results in injuries and health issues. This industry, referred to as ‘downstream’, therefore must also become safer and cleaner. To this end, the umbrella trade union IndustriALL and the Indian women’s trade union Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) have entered into a collaborative relationship. Mondiaal FNV also supports this work.