BSC to get six new ships by Feb 2019

Five new ships will be added to the fleet of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) by 2018 while another will be procured by February 2019, according to an official release issued here today.

Each ship will have 39,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) capacity. Of the six ships, three are oil tankers and three bulk carriers, BSS reported.

The information was revealed at a meeting on the development and financial and administrative matters of the BSC at the Shipping Ministry with Minister Shajahan Khan in the chair, the release said.

Two bulk carriers will arrive in Dhaka from China by July-August and three oil tankers by November-December this year while another bulk carrier will arrive by February 2019.

Bangladesh is procuring the ships from China at a cost of Taka 1,448.32 crore, the release said, adding that the building of the ships is underway in China funded by the Chinese government.

Earlier, a massive fabrication ceremony of the ships was held at a shipyard in China in October 2017.

Acting Secretary of the Shipping Ministry Md Abdus Samad and BSC Executive Director Yeasmin Afsana were present in the meeting, among others.