Shipbreaking: The Most Dangerous Job in the World

What happens to cargo ships at the end of their lives? Often, they wind up beached on shores in the global south where untrained and unprotected workers are tasked with breaking them apart in dangerous conditions. In this episode, Host Ngofeen Mputubwele takes listeners to the beaches of Bangladesh where Human Rights Watch recently completed an investigation of the shipbreaking industry. Here, in what the International Labour Organization calls the most dangerous job in the world, workers are hit with nails, maimed by exploding pipes, sickened by exposure to asbestos and have been trapped in burning hulls as they “recycle” the ships that transport consumer goods to Europe, the United States and beyond.  Julia Bleckner: Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch. Rizwana Syeda Hasan: Bangladeshi environment attorney Learn more at HRW.org Support our work at HRW.org/podcast/donate