Bangladeshi ship set free after 4-day seizure at German port

The state-owned ship – MT Banglar Agradoot – which was detained at the port of Bremen, Germany was released on Friday.

The detention came after the German port authorities – Port State Control – identified 27 defects after a 10-hour inspection of the ship on August 23.

The ship of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) was commissioned only two years back. This is the second incident of inspection of a Bangladeshi ship in a European maritime territory.

According to the BSC, its another ship – MT Banglar Agrojatra – came under such inspection near Barcelona of Spain earlier this month, but that was found to have complied with all rules and regulations relevant to the operation.

As per the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and Mercantile Marine Department, if so many flaws are spotted in any ship in future, the ships carrying Bangladeshi flags may be blacklisted in some areas of the world.

Terming the ship seizure disgraceful to national image, the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) under the Shipping ministry has issued a letter of warning to Bangladeshi ship owners on August 26.

In the letter it asked all ship owners to be more conscious and be in strict compliance with PSC inspection to avoid any such detention in future.

Repeated detention may render Bangladeshi vessels being blacklisted in those countries or regions, added the letter.

Gias Uddin, principal officer of MMD, said: “The seizure of the ship tarnishes our national reputation. This type of situation arises due to poor management and administration.”

“This is a clear reflection of poor management and operation. If a ship is detained somewhere with so many flaws, that ship is more likely to be blacklisted in future,” he warned.

Port State Control (PSC) is the inspection authority of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with these rules.

Shariful Islam Bhuiyan, BSC general manager (Marketing), said the vessel MT Banglar Agradoot was detained due to lack of updated documents on sailors’ training and other operational and management issues.

“The ship was released and it left the Bremen port on Friday evening after the matter was settled as per the rules,” he said.

“But the action on the part of German Port State Control is very unusual.”

He added that a 10-member German inspection team conducted a 10-hour thorough investigation for the first time on August 23.

“Some papers were not on the ship, which were sent immediately. The inspection authority set August 27 as the deadline for re-inspection after which the ship was released,” explained the official.

MT Banglar Agradoot which was made in China in 2018 is capable of transporting 39,000 tons of chemicals. It is currently leased to a Singapore-based company.

According to Marine Traffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System, a tracker of ships on international route, MT Banglar Agradoot departed from Bremen DE on August 27 and sailed northwest along the North Sea.

At present, there are 75 Bangladeshi flag-carrying ships operate on sea worldwide. The MMD inspects these ships once a year.

Although inspections of vessels in international routes are a routine work, seizures with such inconsistencies are rare, said sources in shipping sector.