HC issues injunction on dismantling of toxic ship

The High Court yesterday issued injunction on dismantling of toxic ship MT Enterprise in response to a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) challenging the breaking of the ship.
A division bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui passed the order after hearing on the petition.
Defying an earlier court order and ignoring protests from environmentalists, Siko Steel Ship-breaking Yard owned by Madina Enterprise had been dismantling MT Enterprise at their yard in the coastal upazila of Sitakunda. The ship is blacklisted by Greenpeace for containing hazardous substances.
On October 17, Bela filed the writ petition accusing the importer of the ship for contempt of court.
According to sources, MT Enterprise, an oil tanker which was earlier named as Ocean Enterprise, Atlantia, Taiko, was tainted with asbestos and heavy toxic metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, copper and zinc.
Madina Enterprise started the process of bringing the ship to Bangladesh for scrapping in mid-July. The move raised concerns among environmentalists and others.
They later informed the ministry concerned about the ship and its possible threats to the coastal marine ecology.
However, Madina Enterprise managed to get the no objection certificate (NOC) from the shipping ministry and brought the toxic ship at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port early September.
Sources said the ministry later cancelled the NOC after environmentalists raised their voice against the move.