Norway to send ships to Bangladesh for recycling: Ex-Norwegian minister

Former Climate and Environment Minister of Norway, Erik Solheim, has expressed his support for sending Norwegian ships to Bangladesh for responsible recycling.

"The development of Bangladesh's Ship Recycling Industry over the last 14 years is absolutely amazing. Upon my return, I intend to advocate for our ship owners to consider Bangladesh as a viable option," he said after visiting the Kabir Steel Ship Recycling Facilities in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila yesterday.

Erik Solheim said, "A decade ago, in 2010, I found the ship recycling industry here to be a hazardous and disorganised mess. This visit, however, reveals a remarkable transformation. This industry has become a world leader in ship recycling with its focus on safety and aesthetics."

Replying to a query, Erik Solheim said, "As Norway is a big shipping nation, we wanted to help bring about these changes, and we have been doing so."

Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Espen Rikter-Svendsen echoed Solheim's sentiments, highlighting the positive changes observed in Sitakunda and pledging to send Norwegian ships to Bangladesh for responsible recycling in the future.

Ambassador Espen Rikter-Svendsen said, "I have visited Sitakunda frequently over the past three years, and each visit reveals striking improvements. The positive changes are evident throughout the town. Specifically, at Kabir Steel, I have observed significant advancements."

"We've provided technical support to the IMO project, assisting yard owners and the government," he added.

CEO of KSRM Group, Mehrul Karim, said the ship recycling yard has all the latest equipment to dismantle ships in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention. "Our commitment to sustainability is evident. We've developed world-class facilities that have earned us three prestigious "Green Certificates" from independent organisations. Notably, we're the first ship recycling yard globally to utilise an electro-hydraulic shearing machine to cut steel plates into small pieces," he added.

Replying to a query, Mehrul said, "The transformation of the yard took about Tk30 crore in fresh investments."

Managing Director of Kabir Ship Recycling Facilities, Mohammad Karim Uddin, and Media Advisor of KSRM Group, Mizanul Islam, were also present.

Kabir Ship Recycling Facilities, a concern of the KSRM Group, obtained the ClassNK green certificate as the third yard in the ship recycling industry of Bangladesh in 2023.