The government recently announced plans to establish a Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) in Chittagong's ship breaking yards. Officials broke the news on last Tuesday during a roundtable meeting of donors in Dhaka.

The meeting discussed next steps in International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh (SENSREC)  project. As part of the project's second phase, the treatment facility will help to manage hazardous materials derived from ship recycling and other industries in the region.

Participants of the meeting also visited the ship recycling yards in Chittagong and had a practical overview of the country’s ship recycling industry.

The meeting was organized by the Government of Bangladesh, in cooperation with IMO and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS). IMO was represented by Jun Sun of the Marine Environment Division – who gave an update on the progress of the Organization’s Hong Kong Convention.