Launched in 2015, the SENSREC project in Bangladesh has produced a number of economic and environmental studies on ship recycling, developed and deployed training materials for the ship recycling workers and is contributing to the development of infrastructure including facilities for treatment, storage and disposing of hazardous wastes generated from recycling operations. SENSREC Bangladesh is currently going through its 3rd phase.
Stakeholders and partners
The SENSREC project was commenced in January 2015, and by March 2017 most of its deliverable reports were prepared and approved by the Project Steering Committee – a multi-stakeholder committee that plays an advisory role, and provided crucial guidance on all technical components of the project. Following successful completion of Phase I activities, the Norwegian Government represented by the Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka has agreed in-principle to continue its financial support for the capacity building of Bangladesh ship recycling industry through implementing the training materials developed under Phase I, and institutionalising a sustainable training approach for the country’s ship recycling workforces.
The project was executed by the Marine Environment Division of IMO as the implementing and executing agency, in partnership with the Ministry of Industries of Bangladesh that acts as the national executing partner. The MOI coordinated the input from the different stakeholder ministries within the country, and most importantly from the industry represented by the Bangladesh Ship Breakers & Recyclers Association (BSBRA), while IMO also collaborated with other relevant UN agencies including BRS, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to ensure the successful delivery of the project.
IMO established a local project management office hosted within the premises of the MOI, which was responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the local project activities, including regular communication and liaising between IMO and Ministry of Industries.
Phase 1
The first phase of the Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh project (SENSREC Phase I) was successfully implemented from January 2015 to March 2017, which resulted in economic and environmental studies on ship recycling in Bangladesh, the development of training materials and capacity building plans and a preliminary design for infrastructure including facilities for treatment, storage and disposing of hazardous wastes generated from recycling operations.
The key outcomes of Phase 1 of the project in Bangladesh included:
- Assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of the ship recycling industry in Bangladesh;
- Evaluation of the quantities of different categories of hazardous wastes from the ship recycling and from other localized industries:
- Initial infrastructure design and costing for the development of a Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for the environmentally sound management of the hazardous wastes;
- Recommendation for the refinement of Government One-Stop Service for the industry;
- Development of training material for the workforce in the ship recycling industry; and development of a project document for Phase II of the project.
The reports of the SENSREC project can be found under the “Resources” page of this website.
Phase 2
The second phase of the SENSREC project was successfully implemented from April 2018 to March 2024. Implementation was hampered by restrictions related to the COVID global pandemic, hence why it was extended for 2 years (planned end was July 2022).
Two core work packages form the basis of the Phase-II project.
Building the national capacities to prepare for accession to the Hong Kong Convention, through three interconnecting activities: assessing the present situation; exploring current best practices in other ship recycling countries; and identifying recommendations and a roadmap to guide the Government of Bangladesh towards accession to the Hong Kong Convention. To date, a draft report with recommendations and a roadmap has already been prepared to take legislative and administrative measures for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, based on the gap/needs analysis and the findings of the field study. It is expected to finalize the draft report by April 2020 considering the views and opinions of the key stakeholders of the industry.
The second work package aims at delivering targeted pilot-training activities for a variety of stakeholders in line with HKC requirements, establish a robust training management and governance system and deliver training activities developed for various stakeholders and workforces.
In addition, two training workshops supported by the Secretariat of BRS Convention addressing the downstream waste management in the ship recycling industry have already been held, one in Dhaka and one in Chattogram, with the participation of key stakeholders of the industry.
The reports of the SENSREC project can be found under the “Resources” page of this website.
Phase 3
The objectives of phase 3 are to provide technical assistance to help the Government of Bangladesh to establish a Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF), and for its accession to the HKC. All relevant ministries will be involved, coordinated through the Ministry of Industries. In addition, the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are significant international partners who will add value to the tasks by sharing their expertise, know-how, and in some cases, co-implementing, to assist in creating opportunities for long-term improvements in safety, health, and environmental protection and the development of TSDF.
Three work packages form the core of this phase:
- environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes generated from ship recycling and other industries in Chittagong.
- capacity building targeted at the government organizations (legislation and knowledge management).
- support industry infrastructure upgrade (formerly a study on COVID-19 impacts on Bangladesh ship recycling industry).