Recognition highlights investment in safer, greener shipbreaking.
PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Mohammad Jahirul Islam Rinku receives the BMLS Maritime Excellence Award at The Westin Dhaka on Wednesday (8 October,2026). Photo: Courtesy
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PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Mohammad Jahirul Islam Rinku receives the BMLS Maritime Excellence Award at The Westin Dhaka on Wednesday (8 October,2026). Photo: Courtesy
PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Ltd, a concern of PHP Family, has won the ship recycling category at the Bangladesh Maritime Law Society (BMLS) Maritime Excellence Awards for its efforts to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable practices in the industry.
The award was presented at a ceremony at The Westin Dhaka yesterday (8 October), organised to mark World Maritime Day, according to a press release.
Farzanah Chowdhury, managing director of Green Delta Insurance, handed over the award crest to Mohammad Jahirul Islam Rinku, managing director of PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Ltd.
Justice Khizir Ahmed and BMLS President Captain Mohiuddin Abdul Kader were also present. Hasib Uddin Mollah, a third-generation member of PHP Family, accompanied Rinku at the ceremony.
Under Rinku’s leadership, the company has prioritised environmental protection, modern technology, worker safety and sustainable industrial management, according to the press release.
BMLS said the award recognised the company’s contribution to Bangladesh’s ship recycling industry and its commitment to responsible practices in the maritime sector.
PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries has also received recognition for its green shipyard initiatives. In 2017, it obtained green certification from Italy-based classification society RINA, becoming one of the early adopters of environmentally compliant ship recycling practices in Bangladesh.
The company began focusing on environmentally responsible shipbreaking in 2015 and invested Tk35 crore to upgrade its facilities and practices to meet green certification requirements. It received the certification on 10 October 2017.
The transition to green ship recycling required substantial investment and increased operational costs, according to information provided by the company.
The adoption of automated processes, however, helped reduce risks associated with shipbreaking.
The yard brought in its first vessel for green recycling in mid-2018. The vessel, Ori Victoria, was built in 1989 at Japan’s Nippon Kokan shipyard and weighed around 27,000 tonnes.
It was dismantled using an automated process and listed for green recycling under the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
The convention establishes international standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling and entered into force in June 2025.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Shipping also recognised PHP Recycling as an environmentally friendly facility, presenting the company with an award on 30 September to mark World Maritime Day.
Industry stakeholders say initiatives to improve safety, adopt cleaner technologies and meet international environmental standards could help Bangladesh make ship recycling more sustainable and strengthen compliance across the sector.
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