The Crime Desk: In a span of just 5 days, an explosion and fire also occurred in the second vessel carrying crude oil of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC). A sailor of the ship lost his life in the fire late on Friday night. The remaining 48 people on the ship were rescued by the Coast Guard. The detonation and fire of two oil tankers engaged in the lighting of fuel oil in the country is being seen as a sign of sabotage. Concerned people believe that a gang has targeted two ships of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation to disrupt energy security.
Chairman and director of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), along with top officials, are coming to Chittagong on Sunday. BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek said in a press conference yesterday morning that sabotage may be behind the incident. On the other hand, the top officials of the country’s energy sector discussed the matter in a Zoom meeting yesterday afternoon. There too, the incident of explosion and fire in Sourave of MT Bengal has been discussed as not normal. BSC has initiated the process of chartering a 25,000-ton capacity tanker to discharge crude oil from the mother vessel at outer anchorage. BSC formed an 8-member investigation committee to investigate the incident.
According to sources, almost the entire fuel oil sector of the country is import-dependent. At present, there is a demand of about 7 million tons of fuel oil in the country. These oils are imported in refined crude form from various Middle Eastern countries. Most of this imported oil comes in large oil tankers. These tankers cannot enter Chittagong port. BSC ships MT Bangla Jyoti and MT Bangla Saurabh lightened the fuel oil from the tankers at Guptakhal jetty and released it to the main fuel oil depot. Only two oil tankers discharge and transport oil from offshore anchorages in the country. Oil is discharged and transported under the contract executed between BPC and BSC.
An explosion and fire incident occurred on the morning of September 30 at Jyoti in MT Bengal. Just five days after this, a similar explosion and fire occurred on the second ship, Bangla Sourave, last Friday at 12:50 PM. According to eyewitnesses, there are some visible differences in the two incidents. An explosion occurred while working in a confined space in Jyoti, Bengal. And four points of fire and explosion occurred simultaneously in the Sourave of Bengal. No repair work was going on the ship at that time.
After the late-night explosion and fire, the Navy, Coast Guard, and Chittagong Port Authority worked to put out the fire. A related source said that due to the rough sea, the fire had to be speeded up, and the work could not be done properly in the strong wind. The fire was brought under control after about four hours of efforts. Along with the Navy’s firefighting team, Coast Guard’s BCGT Pramatta and Port Authority’s Kandari-3, 4, 8, and 10 joined the firefighting operations. Apart from this, four rescue teams and three metal sharks from Coast Guard BCGS Shyamal Bengal conducted operations to rescue the sailors. During the explosion and fire, many of the sailors, including the captain of the ship, jumped into the sea. The Coastguard rescue team rescued 48 sailors. Among the rescued, a seaman named Sadek Mia was sent to Chittagong Medical College (Chamek) Hospital in a critical condition, and the doctor on duty declared him dead.
Bought from Denmark in 1987, the life span of Bengal Sourav is over. BSC had been renovating and operating the 37-year-old vessel. Like the Bengal Jyoti, it also carried fuel oil only from the outer anchorage to the port’s Dolphin Jetty. The ship was damaged in Friday night’s accident. However, crude oil worth around Tk 85 crore in the ship is initially believed to be intact. Imported crude oil at the rate of $600 per tonne was unloaded from the mother vessel MT Omera Legacy, which was at outer anchorage and was waiting to arrive at the Dolphin Jetty of Sourav Port, Bengal. Although the ship was heavily damaged in the fire, Haze is unharmed, a source said, adding that the sea is rough, so no outsider is allowed to go near the ship. However, as far as can be seen, the front part of the ship is quite damaged. Doubts have been expressed as to whether the ship can be operated any longer.
BSC MD’s press conference: In a press conference at the BSC office at around 10:30 am yesterday, Managing Director (MD) Commodore Mahmudul Malek said that the fire was not caused by any explosion. However, the ship was on fire in four places at the same time. No fire occurred due to gas form or any other reason. He said that after the fire in Bangladesh, the investigators were proceeding with sabotage in mind. Along with this, a fire drill was conducted in Sourav, Bengal, to prevent the recurrence of the incident. No repair work was going on in this ship.
He said that the rescued crew reported seeing sparks in four places at the front of the ship suddenly last night. At that time, a speedboat was seen moving away from the ship, they said. This sabotage could lead to disrupting the country’s energy security. However, everything will be known after the investigation. An eight-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
Commodore Mahmudul said that the sea was rough at the time of the fire on the ship. Due to the high wind speed, it was difficult to control the fire. Within a short time, seven tugboats from the Navy, Coast Guard, and Chittagong Port Authority conducted simultaneous operations. Later, it was possible to bring the fire under control.
He said that two such incidents back to back are a threat to national energy security. It is being investigated whether it is a sabotage to disrupt national energy security. He said Sourav of Bengal had 11 thousand 55 tons of crude oil, and there were 48 sailors.
He said that after the fire, some people jumped into the water to save themselves. All have been rescued. Among them, Sadek Miah (60), the ship’s steward who jumped into the water, died. After being rescued, he died after being taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
BSC Inquiry Committee: An eight-member inquiry committee has been constituted in the incident of the explosion and fire of Bangla, a ship owned by BSC. The committee has been asked to submit a report to the managing director of BSC within five working days. The committee has been asked to submit a report detailing the cause of the accident, the damage caused as a result of the accident, and measures to be taken in the future to prevent similar accidents. An order signed by BSC Secretary Abu Safayat Muhammad Shahedul Islam yesterday informed about the formation of the investigation committee.
BSC Executive Director (Technology) Engineer Mohammad Yusuf has been made the head of the investigation committee. BSC General Manager (DPA & CSO) Moin Uddin Ahmed Mazumdar has been made member secretary. Besides, representatives of BPC, representatives of Eastern Refinery Limited, BSC regional office Dhaka consultant (Marine Super-Deck), BSC general manager (Marine Workshop), BSC general manager (Cargo Supervision and Operation), and BSC general manager (Ship Repair) have been made members of the committee.
Alternative thinking in fuel transportation: BSC is responsible for delivering oil from outer anchorage to Guptakhal jetty. BSC is responsible for oil transportation under the agreement between BSC and BPC, two state-owned companies. Two oil tankers of BSC have become immobile. The mother vessel, MT Omera Legacy, is waiting at outer anchor with the remaining 30,000 tons of crude oil out of 98,000 tons of oil. This oil should be redeemed and brought to BSC. But BSC no longer has any oil tankers. Now, as an alternative, BSC has started the process of hiring an oil tanker with a capacity of 25,000 tons, said a related source. However, it was not confirmed when the chartered vessel would reach the outer anchorage or when it would discharge the oil. The mother vessel will remain anchored until the new vessel arrives. As a result, BPC will have to pay millions of dollars in excess.
However, BPC-controlled Padma Oil Company, Meghna Petroleum, and Yamuna Oil Company have a total of 96 small tankers. A concerned official said that whether the crude oil can be released for now with these tankers of 1000 ton to 2000 ton capacity is being considered. But in this case, BSC and BPC have to discuss and fix the matter.
