Bangladeshi Port Popular Spot For Dumping Toxic Waste - Gulf Times

[hatrack]

Hundreds of ships visiting Bangladesh’s main port in Chittagong are taking advantage of lax laws to dump pollutants into the sea with officials struggling to stop it with only a binocular and a camera. "Foreign and local ships find the Chittagong Port and its outer anchorage a safe dumping area for their waste, taking advantage of poor laws and their lax implementation due to logistic challenges,” an official of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) told newsmen yesterday.

He said taking the advantage of the situation, many of the ships dump pollutants in the sea or pollute the air. “We detected about 700 offending vessels over the last three years and fined them” but could not completely stop oil spillage, dumping of other pollutants and emission of smoke, said Mohamed Munir Chowdhury, a magistrate with the CPA. The port magistracy, he said, was equipped with only one ordinary camera and a binocular to fight pollution.

“I spot the ships with binoculars and photograph the scene as evidence to fine them.” Chowdhury and other officials, however, said many foreign ships used to dump burnt oil in the outer anchorage of the port defying international regulations but tough vigilance and mobile court actions have stopped such attempts.

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