Nine years after an international agreement in Hong Kong on new global rules to help clean up the dirty, dangerous business of scrapping redundant ships, the market remains largely unregulated and burdened with poor practices.
With 835 oceangoing ships scrapped last year, it is a vital but under-resourced part of the industry.
But for the 130,000 workers who work in the industry in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh — which make up 80% of the market — it remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, according to the International Labour Organization.
