Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh narrowly avoided a major oil spill disaster, thanks to the timely intervention of Bashundhara Group’s two vessels.
According to officials of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), they requested Bashundhara’s ships to transfer 11,000 metric tonnes of unrefined oil from the MV Banglar Saurav, a BSC ship which caught fire recently at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port.
Speaking about this, BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek said, “We needed a tanker with a capacity of 4,000-5,000 tonnes that was both capable and qualified for oil transfer. Safety and security measures were ensured. And we successfully completed two trips to Eastern Refinery. A third tanker is currently being loaded, after which the cargo will be oil-free.”
The two Bashundhara vessels, MT Basanthara Oil and Gas-8, were class-certified and successfully handled three-fourth of the oil transfer. The final trip is currently underway.
Meanwhile, BSC faced another setback as an oil tanker, MT Banglar Saurav, caught fire near Patenga beach in Chattogram, killing one person. This incident marks the second fire in four days involving BSC’s oil tankers.
On 30 September, three people died when fire engulfed MV Banglar Jyoti, another ship of BSC, at the Dolphin Jetty in Chattogram Port.
The Ministry of Shipping is investigating whether these incidents were accidents or acts of sabotage.
Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain assured that strict action would be taken if foul play is found. A high-level committee, headed by an additional secretary of the ministry, will conduct a thorough investigation into the accidents.
The 10-member committee will include experts to ensure a comprehensive review of the incidents.
