The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) has finally taken steps for the disposal of two of its oldest oil tankers, which, according to experts, had become unfit by 2015.

An international tender was issued yesterday to dispose of both the 37-year-old ships, which cost the corporation around Tk 20 crore annually for maintenance and repairs to keep them operational.

Quotations have been sought on an "as is where is" basis from local or international firms for "Banglar Jyoti" and "Banglar Shourabh", both of which had earlier been damaged in fire incidents, claiming lives of four people.

BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek said the selling process would be completed under the open tender method, keeping the window open for the participation of international firms also.

The tankers, which would be sold to shipbreakers, were built in Denmark in 1987

Tender documents would be sold out until January 5 next year, he said.

The tender can be dropped at the BSC head office in Chattogram and in its Dhaka office, while it can be submitted through email too.

The tankers, which would be sold to shipbreakers, were built in Denmark in 1987 in a customised way to dedicatedly conduct ship-to-ship fuel transfer at sea.

These tankers had been engaged in lightering crude oil, imported by Eastern Refinery Limited, from bigger oil tankers anchored at the outer anchorage and bringing it to the port's dolphin jetty for unloading to the plant of the importer.

"Banglar Jyoti" got damaged in an explosion-led fire on September 30 this year when it was about to unload fuel at the port's dolphin jetty. Three persons onboard were killed.

Fire damaged "Banglar Shourabh" when it completed a ship-to-ship fuel transfer at the port's outer anchorage on October 5 this year, taking the life of one.

Although both the ships became unfit by 2015, the BSC continued to operate them, as it failed to purchase new ones, according to the merchant mariners.

The government in 2015 took the single-point mooring project to transport crude oil and diesel from a deep-sea mooring, 16 km off the Maheshkhali coast, to Eastern Refinery in Chattogram's Patenga, a BSC official said.

Delay in implementing the project forced the state-owned ship operator to continue to run the two oil tankers, the official added.