New Asbestos Ship is Bangladeshi

Article Added February 16th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

A scrap merchant in Bangladesh has bought a famed ocean liner containing asbestos for $12 million. The Bangladeshi government states it will not allow the ship to be broken up in the country.

Environmentalist that were starting to breath a sigh of relief over the French warship Clemenceau may now have another cause for alarm: the SS Norway. A local dollar crisis in the Bangladeshi market has postponed the final payment for the ship by Haji Lokman Hossain, the owner of a scrap yard in southern Bangladesh. Hossain noted that if the sale is finalized, he will attempt to destroy all hazardous material in the ship before it is broken down. A human chain was formed in Chittagong in response to the proposed purchase, barring the entrance of the Giri Subedar ship yard.

Greenpeace has a watchlist of over 50 asbestos-carrying vessels, the SS Norway among them. Fears are that the ship will not be decontaminated before being scrapped, a worry that is compounded by poor working conditions in the financially strapped country. Without proper training or equipment, the 1250 tons of asbestos could be released into the environment. Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association served multiple legal notices to the capital to halt the ship from being brought into native waters.

Article Added February 16th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story