The government will procure six new feeder vessels for the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation at a cost of Tk1,439.10 crore from China there are restrictions placed on running old vessels on international routes, official sources said.
China National Machinery Corporation will provide three oil tankers and three bulk carrier tankers to the state-run BSC on suppliers credit from China Exim Bank Ltd.
After 22 years, the BSC has decided to procure six ships. It procured its latest bulk cargo vessel, MV Banglar Shikha, in 1991.
The Ministry of Shipping sent a proposal for procuring six ships from China to the cabinet committee on economic affairs for vetting which was signed by Shipping Secretary Syed Manzurul Islam.
According to the proposal, the government spent huge foreign currency on importing fuel oil, fertiliser, sugar and cement clinker. “The capacity of BSC will be enhanced if the six new vessels are able to carry imported goods from abroad and the government can save huge amounts of foreign currencies,” the proposal said.
In 2011, the BSC proposed the CNMC for six vessels and signed an MoU on June 15 in 2012. On April 30, the Ministry of Shipping signed a contract with the CNMC. The cost of each tanker is Tk282 crore while each bulk carrier will cost Tk197 crore and six vessels will reach Bangladesh in 2016.
The BSC started its journey in 1972 without any vessels and later procured a total of 38 vessels from abroad. In late 80s, it had a total of 26 vessels. At present, it has only eight vessels.
The BSC needs to add new vessels to its fleet as there is a restriction on running older vessels on the international routes. The BSC had long been pressing the Planning Commission for fund, but in vain.
Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Chairman Abdullahel Bari said it is not a wise decision the government had taken as it would affect the local shipbuilding industry.
“The government could have bought the ships from the local companies by arranging money from abroad like Germany and the Netherlands,” he said, adding, “If the government procures these ships from local companies, it will help promote the country’s shipbuilding industry.”
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said the national flag carrier is overburdened with old ships, negatively impacting its operational capacity and severely cutting into its profit margin.
“We want to bring six brand new ships from globally-reputed companies on a supplier’s credit from China,” he said.
Earlier, the ministry in a meeting approved the proposal put forward by the BSC to procure two bulk carriers of 30,000 to 35,000 DWT (dead weight tonne) capacity, two product carriers having the same capacity in terms of DWT and two container feeder vessels of 1000 to1200 TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units).
In December, 2010, the board of directors of the BSC, which is headed by the shipping minister, moved to purchase a container feeder vessel and dispose two age-old general cargo vessels -- Banglar Urmee and Banglar Gourab -- that were procured in 1982 and 1984 respectively.