View Online [[link removed]] | Subscribe now [[link removed]]Powered byKnow better. Do better.Climate. Change.News from the ground, in a warming world

By Jack Graham [[link removed]] | Deputy Editor, Funded Projects

The global fleet

Stay tuned for an important update at the end.

On the beaches of Sitakunda in Bangladesh you find a special type of retirement home.

This is where ships go to die, beaching on the sand before their carcasses are ripped apart and recycled for steel and other materials.

And there is about to be a retirement boom.

As Md. Tahmid Zami reports [[link removed]] from Sitakunda, in the next decade about 15,000 ships will come into yards like these, representing about an eighth of the world’s current fleet.

Were it a country, the global fleet would have the dubious honour of being the world's No. 6 emitter [[link removed]] of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

[[link removed]]

Thomson Reuters Foundation/Md. Tahmid Zami

The old ships are the worst culprits, so accelerating their retirement has become a priority for a sector that is making pledges to become green, industry members told Tahmid.

South Asian countries break about 85% to 90% [[link removed]] of decommissioned ships. It's good business for the shipyards, but dangerous for their workers.

"Cutting ships is one of the riskiest jobs on earth," said Jamal Uddin, 40, who works as a senior cutter in his local yard.

Workers weld a wrecked part of a ship at a ship-breaking yard in Chittagong August 19, 2009. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Hazardous waste

Far from a sophisticated process, many of the tasks facing shipbreaking in Bangladesh are done by hand on beached ships in difficult conditions.

Many old ships have hazardous waste like asbestos and chemicals that pose serious health dangers to the workers scrapping them.

And according to one estimate, 470 workers have been killed in accidents [[link removed]] in ship breaking yards since 2009.

There are moves afoot at the United Nations, with a new international Hong Kong convention [[link removed]] coming into force in June to improve the sector's safety and environmental record.

But activists want more radical changes, like phasing out the old-fashioned beaching method and for ship owners - mostly from wealthy nations - to provide more funding and technical support.

"The world's rich countries benefit from international shipping. They need to care and act on how the ships are recycled and what happens to the workers," said Mohammad Ali of the Bangladesh Metalworkers' Federation.

For workers like Jamal Uddin, the speed of these changes could be a matter of life and death.

Quick FYI, we’re changing things up a little for this newsletter.

From here on, instead of every week, Climate. Change. will come to your inbox once a month.

We want to make sure you're getting the most useful insights from our newsroom and will shortly be sending you a survey - your answers will really help! Thank you.

See you soon,

Jack

This week's top picks Bangladesh shipyards brace for recycling boom [[link removed]]

New international law seeks to make ship-breaking safer and cleaner - workers want better pay, too.

What happens to ships when they die? [[link removed]]

Scrapping old ships cuts planet-heating emissions, but the risks to people and planet are significant, too

Indonesia lawmakers say Indigenous rights bill inching closer [[link removed]]

Indonesia could pass a landmark Indigenous Peoples bill this year after almost two decades in limbo

Read all of our coverage here [[link removed]] Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

If you like this newsletter, please forward to a friend or share it on Social Media. [[link removed]]

We value your feedback - let us know what you think [mailto:[email protected]].

[[link removed]]

This email was sent to you by Thomson Reuters Foundation located at 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ - a registered charity in the United Kingdom and the United States.

If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you do not wish to receive this type of correspondence in the future, contact us at [[email protected]] so that we can remove you from this list.

Thomson Reuters Foundation terms and conditions and privacy statement can be found online at www.trust.org [[link removed]].

Photos courtesy of Reuters or Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Manage your Subscriptions [[link removed]] | Unsubscribe from all TRF communications [link removed]