"Ship Graveyards: Scotland's Links to Deadly Industry Revealed," 24 July 2017

The men who work in the ship breaking yards of South Asia do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Dozens are killed every year in fires and explosions, crushed by falling metal or poisoned by toxic fumes. At least 52 people lost their lives in 2016, although the actual number may be far higher as shipyard owners refuse to discuss accidents and do not release figures. Most workers earn less than £4 a day, while corporations make millions selling to yards in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. An investigation by STV News has revealed Scotland's ties to this deadly industry and traced more than 150 ships that began their lives on the [river] Clyde [in Scotland] and ended up as scrap in South Asia's ship graveyards. Among them was the Empress of Britain, one of the last great ships built in Glasgow and launched by the Queen at the Fairfield Shipyard in June 1955...In its latest report on the Chittagong ship breaking yards [in Bangladesh], the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (GLHR) quoted one worker saying: "The government authorities sometimes visit the ship breaking yards. Only then does yard supply us with safety gear."...Child labour is also common despite being illegal across South Asia and there are reports of boys younger than 12 working on the beaches to support their families...