The state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel "MV Banglar Joyjatra" has again failed to cross the Strait of Hormuz after a second attempt was halted by Iranian authorities.
The ship, carrying 31 crew members, had anchored near Sharjah port after Iran announced on Friday afternoon that the strait was open to commercial vessels. It later set sail around 9pm in an attempt to cross.
However, within hours, Iranian forces stopped the vessel, preventing it from proceeding further.
According to officials, the ship began its journey without explicit clearance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following the movement of other commercial vessels.
The vessel entered the Strait of Hormuz around 11:50pm, but at around 12:30am, the Iranian navy issued a radio directive ordering all ships to shut down their engines and halt movement. It also warned that no vessel would be allowed to cross without IRGC permission.
BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek told Bangla Tribune that the company had sought permission earlier but received no response.
“As we did not receive any refusal or confirmation, we assumed the strait had been opened. Around 40 commercial vessels began moving, and Banglar Joyjatra followed them,” he said.
“At its speed, the ship could have crossed into the Sea of Oman by around 3am. But suddenly, around 12:30am, a message from the Iranian navy and IRGC instructed all vessels to stop,” he added.
He said BSC is now assessing its next course of action.
Earlier, following a ceasefire, the vessel had attempted to cross the strait on April 8. After nearly 40 hours of sailing, it reached the vicinity on April 10 but was not granted permission to proceed.
Chief Engineer Rashedul Hasan said the vessel had earlier loaded around 37,000 tons of fertiliser from Ras Al Khair port in Saudi Arabia and was awaiting clearance to continue its voyage to Cape Town in South Africa.
According to BSC sources, MV Banglar Joyjatra had arrived at Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates on February 27 from Mesaieed Port in Qatar carrying 38,800 tonnes of steel coils. Due to the evolving conflict situation, it remained docked at the port, and unloading was completed on March 11 after delays.
In a previous incident, BSC vessel MV Banglar Samriddhi was damaged in a missile strike near Ukraine’s Olbia port on March 1, 2022, during the Russia-Ukraine war, killing a Bangladeshi sailor. The ship was later declared abandoned.
The bulk carrier MV Banglar Joyjatra, with a capacity of 39,000 tons, was added to the BSC fleet in 2018. Built by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, it was acquired through joint financing with the Chinese government.