Shipping Corp’s negligence blamed for Banglar Samriddhi’s destruction

The Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association (BMMOA) has alleged that Mohammad Hadisur Rahman, the third engineer of Banglar Samriddhi, had to die due to the negligence of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) authorities.

"The area where the ship anchored on 22 February was declared war-affected on 15 February by the Joint War Committee and yet the ship went there. Why this happened must be investigated," said BMMOA General Secretary Marine Engineer Md Shakhawat Hossain at a press briefing on Friday.

Charter party – a deed between a shipowner and a trader for the hire of a ship and the delivery of cargo – gives the right to a shipping company not to send a ship to war-affected or pirate-prone areas. So, the question arises why the ship went there, he added.

He further said the overall mismanagement of the shipping corporation has caused the death of a sailor, the pathetic condition of other sailors and the destruction of the vessel. "Who would take responsibility for these losses?"

According to the website of the Marine Traffic that discovers information and vessel positions for vessels around the world, there were 24 ships in the outer anchorage of Olvia port on 27 February. By 4pm on 3 March, only eight vessels were there.

Senior Bangladeshi sailors have said while 16 vessels managed to leave the area why Banglar Samriddhi could not leave.

Abdullah al Mahmud, the captain of a ship, told The Business Standard, "Perhaps, Banglar Samriddhi did not leave because of commercial interest. The ship may have cargo required to be unloaded."

Acknowledging the commercial interest, BSC Executive Director (commerce) Piyush Dutta said, "As the countries were discussing the war we thought the situation would be normal and then rescue the sailors."

Rescued soldiers are being taken to Romania 

Twenty-eight sailors of Banglar Samriddhi, who were stranded in the Ukrainian port, are being taken to Romania via Moldova.

"The sailors were in a bunker after getting off the vessel yesterday. They are being taken to Moldova in collaboration with the Polish Embassy in Bangladesh and the Port Authority of Ukraine," Bangladesh Shipping Corporation Deputy General Manager (chartering, planning) Captain Md Mujibur Rahman told The Business Standard on Friday.

From Moldova, the sailors will be taken to Romania and brought back to Bangladesh from there. However, their current location cannot be disclosed for the sake of their safety, he added. 

Earlier on Thursday, the stranded sailors were rescued from the ship, missile-attacked in Olivia port on Wednesday. The body of Hadisur Rahman has been preserved, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam.

Banglar Samriddhi is currently under the supervision of the Ukraine Port Authority. Once the sailors are rescued, authorities will think about how to recover the ship," said Captain Md Mujibur Rahman.