Singapore experts yet to salvage Banglar Shikha
MV Banglar Shikha carrying 7,700 tonnes of imported wheat has remained stranded with 35 crew at Heron Point close to the Bay of Bengal since the ocean-going vessel owned by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation ran aground on May 15.Photo: STAR
A six-member Singapore team that came to Mongla Port on Tuesday evening could not salvage MV Banglar Shikha till yesterday noon. Strenuous efforts are being made to salvage the ship and save the huge quantity of imported wheat from being damaged, an official said. MV Banglar Shikha, a sea going vessel owned by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) and laden with 7,700 metric tonnes of imported wheat, got stuck at Heron Point close to the Bay of Bengal at 6:30 pm on May 15. All the efforts made by Mongla Port Authority (MPA) to salvage the ship with the help of tug boats amid high waves of the rough sea went in vain, officials said. The ship could not be tugged to the shore as it is heavily burdened with 7,700 metric tonnes of wheat. Later, it was decided to tug the ship after unloading at least 70 percent wheat sacks. But lighterage vessels could not go to the place of occurrence as the sea has been rough since last three weeks, said Sirajul Huq, manager of the Khulna office of BSC. The vessel got stuck at Heron point as it plied on wrong route. Because, there was neither any signal light nor any route indicator for it to reach the destination through narrow channel of Mongla Port, he said. However, all the 35 crew members on board are quite hale and hearty. They have food for more 10 days in their stock, said Md Nasiruddin, assistant manager (admin) of the media wing of BSC. The six-member salvage team brought from Singapore started work on Wednesday with help of two tug boats---Dynamic and Agni Prahari. "We have a plan to bring more high powered tug boats from Singapore, if necessary, in case of failure to salvage MV Banglar Shikha," manager Sirajul Islam further said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments