2nd oil tanker fire sparks sabotage concerns
The authorities concerned suspect the back-to-back fires on two oil tankers of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) at the Chattogram port could be acts of sabotage to harm the country's energy security.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has issued directives to ensure special cautionary measures in all depots and installations of the energy sector across the country.
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), Bangladesh Navy, and Bangladesh Coast Guard have also beefed up security to avert any further incidents within the port limits and also in the maritime sector.
Yesterday, a crew member died after jumping off BSC oil tanker Banglar Shourabh, which caught fire at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram port.
The deceased was identified as Sadek Mia, 59, a general steward of the vessel. He died a couple of hours after jumping off.
The incident took place just five days after three people died in a deadly explosion in another BSC oil tanker – Banglar Jyoti – on September 30.
Both the tankers were used for lightering bigger tankers anchored at the outer anchorage, and bringing crude oil to the Eastern Refinery Limited plant.
Early yesterday, Banglar Shourabh had loaded 11,055 tonnes of crude oil from Omera Legacy, a bigger tanker, and was supposed to head towards the jetty.
According to witnesses, the fire started on the ship's deck near the mid-point around 12:30am and spread fast.
Upon information, the Bangladesh Coast Guard's fire-fighting boat rushed to the spot and started work to extinguish the fire. At least six boats from the coast guard, Bangladesh Navy and CPA followed.
After the ship master called "abandon ship", at least 12 crew members jumped into the water. A joint rescue team rescued 36 from the vessel. The other 12 were fished out of the water by nearby fishing trawlers and the coast guard.
The fire was completely brought under control by 4:00pm.
'ACT OF SABOTAGE'
BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek at a press briefing at the BSC headquarter in Chattogram said, "Sabotage may be the top concern now as the second fire incident occurred within a short period despite strict preventative and cautionary measures taken after the first incident."
He said the two back-to-back incidents might be acts of sabotage to harm the country's energy security.
Quoting crew members, Mahmudul said they first noticed sequential ignitions at four points on the ship, which is "very unlikely to happen".
He said they also noticed a speedboat passing by at the time.
The BSC MD further said that following the explosion on Banglar Jyoti and amid criticisms of using two old ships for lightering, preventative measures were taken over the last few days, including carrying out daily fire drills, checking the ventilation system and looking out for any leakage on the Banglar Shourabh to avert a repeat incident.
He added that there was no physical activity going on on the ship when the fire began.
Mahmudul said both the ships were supposed to be phased out after Banglar Shourabh's last trip yesterday, adding that they were working to hire a foreign oil tanker for lightering.
Senior officials of the CPA, the navy and coast guard were present at the briefing.
CPA Member M Fazlar Rahman said an order was issued to strictly follow the port's security system at the jetties as well as within the port limits till Matarbari.
The navy and coast guard, who are dedicated to maintaining the security at the outer anchorage and port limits, have been requested to enhance round-the-clock patrols.
Contacted, BPC Managing Director Amin Ul Ahsan said consecutive fire incidents on two tankers was not a "mere accident".
"It could be sabotage".
He said directives were given to ensure special cautionary measures in all depots and installations of the energy sector across the country.
FURTHER MEASURES
Following the fire incidents, the BPC authorities are now actively trying to launch a single point mooring (SPM) with a double pipeline project, which will enable the discharging of imported crude oil through underwater pipelines.
The commercial operations of the SPM project have not yet started, despite trial operations three months ago.
Amin Ul Hasan said the operator appointment process for the SPM project, located in the middle of the sea, is currently ongoing.
He said the energy ministry has also asked for the completion of the process as soon as possible.
"We're trying to start commercial operations of the SPM at the earliest. Safety will be ensured to a large extent if oil is transported through SPM."
Meanwhile, the BSC formed an eight-member probe committee, led by its Executive Director Engineer Mohammad Yousuf, to investigate the fire incident and were asked to submit a report within five days.
The shipping ministry and department of shipping formed two separate committees in this regard as well.
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