Bangladesh gets $22.48m payout for vessel hit by rocket in Ukraine

Bangladesh has finally received $22.48 million in insurance payout for "Banglar Samriddhi", a cargo vessel abandoned at a Ukraine port last year after a missile attack, as the ship's reinsurer Lloyd's of London broker Tysers released the money to primary insurer Sadharan Bima Corporation on Wednesday.

"After a couple of months of negotiation with Tysers on the insurance claim, the reinsurer last month confirmed the payout in foreign currency. Finally, we received the money on Wednesday," Syed Belal Hossain, managing director of Sadharan Bima, told The Business Standard.

He also said Sadharan Bima will release the insurance claim to the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, the owner of the damaged ship, after completing some official procedures. But after clearing the insurance claim, Tysers will now get ownership of Banglar Samriddhi as per insurance rules, Belal added.

Previously, the family of Md Hadisur Rahman, who was killed in the missile attack, received $500,000 in a death claim from the reinsurer. Hadisur hailing from Betagi upazila of Barguna was the third engineer of the ship, according to Sadharan Bima.

Besides, the 28 Bangladeshi crewmembers who were rescued from the ship that had been stranded at the Port of Olvia and later were repatriated to Bangladesh received $2,42,900 in compensation. In addition, $39,958 were spent on the repatriation of the 28 sailors.

The Shipping Corporation rented Banglar Samriddhi to a Danish firm Delta Corporation. The bulk carrier arrived in Ukraine on 22 February 2022. The ship was supposed to take ball clay from the port before travelling to Italy.

But Ukraine closed its ports following Russia's invasion on 24 February. On 2 March, a rocket struck the stranded vessel, killing one of the sailors.

The rest of the crew members then abandoned the vessel at the port of Olvia and were moved out of Ukraine into Romania safely.

The attack heavily damaged the ship's navigation bridge. Fire from the explosion also damaged other parts of the vessel.

In March last year, the Shipping Corporation filed an insurance claim with Sadharan Bima, prompting the insurer to reach out to the reinsurer.

Referring to war risk insurance rules, a top shipping corporation official said if a damaged ship cannot be rescued within a year, it will be declared as a constructive total loss – the damage is so extensive that repairs would equal or surpass the cost of the vessel or its insurance limit.

In such cases, the reinsurer will cover the entire loss of the ship, according to him.

Sadharan Bima Managing Director Belal Hossain said the ship will go to the reinsurer after the compensation. Subsequently, the vessel will be sold and Sadharan Bima will receive 1% of the risk coverage.

Banglar Samriddhi joined the Shipping Corporation fleet in 2018. The vessel was bought at Tk204 crore under a loan agreement with China.

After experiencing colossal growth in the business through riding on new ocean-going ships, the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation last year decided to expand its fleet with another four vessels at a cost of $241.92 million for future prospects.

As per the decision, the four ships – two crude oil tankers and two bulk carriers – will be procured from China under a government-to-government agreement.

After Banglar Samriddhi got damaged in the missile attack in Ukraine, the Shipping Corporation has now left with seven ocean-going ships in its fleet.