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The sandy sea beach between Karnaphuli River and delta in Anwara -- Parki sea beach -- is now yielding to a shipbreaking yard, losing its identity temporarily.
Widely known for its open beach, sunset, jhau forest, the seashore has fallen victim to an ill-fated giant ship that got stranded at Parki due to the hurricane, Mora, on May 30, 2017, and that now needs to be dismantled to clear off the vicinity.
According to the Environment Department officials, there is no other means but to go for shipbreaking as it is required to remove the giant ship from the littoral.
The seaside will be temporarily turned into a shipbreaking yard, a red-class industry with a considerable level of pollution, they admitted.
The Crystal Gold Ship, which was anchored at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port got stranded at Parki of Anowara due to a violent storm.
After a series of inspections, the ship has been deemed to be wrecked and recycled under 30 conditions, said Ferdous Anwar, deputy director, Department of Environment, Chattogram.
The permission has been granted for one year from 17 November 2021.
According to sources, like the Crystal Gold, a Greek ship MD Alpine also got stranded off the coast of Sitakunda in the 1960s due to a catastrophic cyclone, and Sitakunda was also turned into a shipbreaking yard. “The permission of recycling the ship in Parki beach has been approved in the same way as other shipbreaking yards in Sithakundo coast,” argued Ferdous.
MV Crystal Gold, the ocean-going vessel owned by a local company Crystal Group, was auctioned for Tk 11 crore to Four-Star Enterprise, a shipbreaking and Recycling Company. The company tried to wreck the ship and remove it.
However, on January 8, 2019, after hearing the allegation that the ship on the beach was being broken and recycled without permission, the Department of Environment, Chattogram office, imposed a fine of Tk 2 crore on the shipbreaker.
Finally, after a court order, the company was allowed to go for it in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and other rules and regulations.
The Environment Department formed a seven-member monitoring committee headed by Anwara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sheikh Jobayer Ahmed.
The committee was asked to monitor the activities of the shipbreaking.
On Wednesday, members of the committee visited the area to inspect the stranded ship and oversee the preparation of Four-Star Enterprise for dismantling the ship.
“An area of about one acre had been cordoned off, and necessary preparations made duly,” said Sheikh Jobayer Ahmed, head of the committee.
Several government departments, including Chattogram Port, Fire Service and Explosives Department, conducted studies on the removal of the ship, but finally they decided to break it down, added the official.
“Four-Star Enterprise has submitted a detailed work plan on the basis of which they have been given permission to do the job. Action will be taken if they do not comply with their action plan,” Jobayer pointed out.
Built in 1986, Cristal Gold was sailing under the flag of Bangladesh with a carrying capacity of 27,586 metric tons. Its draught is reported to be 5.7 metres, length overall 168.3 metres and width 26 metres.
Though the Four-Star Enterprise got permission for one year, Abul Kalam Azad Babul, owner of the enterprise, told The Business Post that it will take three months to break and recycle the ship.
Ships are recycled at about 60 yards off the coast of Sitakunda. Every year about 250 ships are dismantled in this shipbreaking yard which is recognised as one of the largest ship-breaking industries in the world.
A ship carries at least 10-12 metric tons of oil, plastic and metallic waste usually which are of no use, said Mohammad Ali Saheen, a senior official of Youth Power and Social Action, a watchdog for shipbreaking industries.
“It is Important to notice how the ship waste will be removed from Parki sea beach,” he added.
