The Ministry of Industries (MoI) has imposed a comely of Tk35 lakh on SN Company Shipbreaking Yard following a lethal explosion on 7 September, which claimed the lives of six employees and injured six others.
In addition to the hefty comely, the yard has been ordered to raze all operations for three months as a part of the punitive measures.
The ministry has also mandated that the households of the deceased victims obtain compensation totaling Tk7 lakh per family. This contains Tk5 lakh under Piece forty five.3 of the Ship Breaking and Recycling Solutions, 2011, and a further Tk2 lakh as per the provisions of the Labour Law.
Furthermore, the injured employees are to be compensated with twelve months’ wage, and all scientific costs connected to their remedy are to be totally borne by the yard authorities.
These penalties and directives had been issued in a letter dated 18 September 2024, by Sanjoy Kumar Ghose, deputy secretary of the MoI, after a radical overview of the investigation file ready by a probe committee formed to gaze into the explosion.
The fines imposed on SN Company consist of Tk10 lakh under Piece forty five.3 for security violations, Tk10 lakh under Piece 46.3 for failing to be determined safe working stipulations and Tk10 lakh under Piece 46.9 for operational misconduct.
Moreover, a Tk5 lakh comely used to be levied under Piece 46.11, which also ordered the closure of the yard for three months.
In accordance with the incident, the ministry issued a 20-point recommendation geared toward struggling with future accidents. Amongst the options had been key security measures akin to prohibiting the simultaneous operation of Hot and Cool work, making sure honest ventilation whereas chopping tanks, engine rooms, and pump rooms, and evacuating gasoline forward of issuing Hot Work permits.
The letter also urged the yard to recruit educated and experienced employees, strictly discover the Ship Reducing Conception, and compose determined honest firefighting and rescue preparations are in divulge when engaged on high-be troubled areas of ships.
Moreover, it known as for the provision of ample non-public preserving instruments (PPE) for all employees.
The ministry emphasised the importance of adhering to the Ship Breaking Recycling Solutions-2011 to lead determined of future incidents and urged SN Company to implement the safety options to pause such tragedies from habitual.
The explosion at SN Company is yet one other reminder of the serious need for strict security measures in the shipbreaking replace, a sector that has seen quite so a lot of accidents over time attributable to lax security protocols. The Ministry’s decisive actions underscore the government’s commitment to worker security and accountability within this risky replace, the ministry said.
