Safety and health in shipbreaking: Guidelines for Asian countries and Turkey

These guidelines are the first of their kind to provide assistance to ensure safe work in shipbreaking within the framework of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. In so doing they provide advice on the transformation of a mainly informal economy activity into a more formal organized one.

Code of practice | 01 March 2004
The guidelines are designed to assist shipbreakers and competent authorities alike to implement the relevant provisions of ILO standards, codes of practice and other guidelines on occupational safety and health and working conditions, and the provisions of instruments of other relevant international organizations, aiming at progressive improvement.

The practical recommendations in these guidelines are for use by all those who are responsible for occupational safety and health in shipbreaking operations. The guidelines are not legally binding, nor are they intended to replace national laws, regulations or accepted standards. They provide guidance to those engaged in the framing of relevant provisions and the setting up of effective national systems, procedures and enterprise regulations, where they do not exist.