A fire broke out on two LPG-carrying ships, ‘Sophia’ and ‘Captain Nicholas,’ in the Kutubdia Channel of the Bay of Bengal in the wee hours of Sunday. As of the latest reports, the crew members of both ships have been rescued.
The incident occurred around 1:00 am.
Md Zahirul Haque, Captain of the Coast Guard's Eastern Zone (Chittagong), confirmed the incident. He stated that upon receiving the news, the Coast Guard dispatched a tugboat and three metal sharks to combat the fire.
Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, the acting Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Kutubdia, mentioned that senior officials from the Navy and Coast Guard have been informed about the fire on the anchored ships in deep sea.
Senior sailor Atiq U Khan said that the fire started while separating the LPG carrier Sofia from the mother vessel Nicholas after completing the lightering operation. He also expressed concern that the recent spate of fires and explosions on four ships within 12 days raises questions about whether these incidents could be acts of sabotage.
Previously, fires had occurred on two ships carrying crude oil from Eastern Refinery in the Patenga area of Chittagong. Following these separate incidents, the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was concerned about potential sabotage.