Seventeen ship recycling yards in Sitakunda, Chattogram, have been added to the International Maritime Organization’s list of facilities authorised under the Hong Kong Convention, placing Bangladesh second worldwide after Turkey’s 18, The Business Standard reported on 18 May 2026.
According to an IMO document published on 15 January 2026, the yards were authorised by the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board with validity until 29 October 2030. Board Director General Shafiul Alam Talukder told TBS the country has 30 green yards, four of them with conditional approval.
Fewer ships arriving
Despite the upgrades — yard owners invested more than Tk2,000 crore over two years, according to a former association vice-president quoted by TBS — imports have declined. Only 84 ships, about 716,155 tonnes, were imported for recycling in 2025, compared with a 2021 peak of 280 ships.
Event date: May 2026
Sources: This report summarises the following original reporting. Facts and quotations are attributed to these sources.
- The Business Standard, Bangladesh ranks second globally with 17 IMO-authorised ship recycling yards (18 May 2026)
More from Ship Recycling.
File photo: a ship recycling yard in Bangladesh. Photo: International Maritime Organization / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
