State-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) has completed the acquisition of another modern ocean-going ship with its own financing. At the same time, this ship will be involved in commercial operations from Sunday.
The MV 'Banglar Nabojatra' ship was officially handed over to BSC last Thursday evening at the Xingjiang Nanyang Shipyard in China. Earlier, the ship was named XCL LION. After about eight hours of delivery and formalities, the physical delivery of the ship was completed.
Representatives of the Shipping Ministry, BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek, management authority of Nanyang Shipyard, representatives of Lloyd's Register (LR) and relevant officials of the seller were present at the event.
Confirming the matter, BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek said that the ship will start commercial operations from Sunday. A total of 24 crew members will be on duty.
Earlier, on Tuesday morning (January 27), the formal closing ceremony was held at the London office of Stephenson Harwood LLP, a law firm of London-based ship supplier Hellenic Dry Bulk Ventures LLC. BSC Managing Director, a representative of Shipping Ministry, Executive Director (Commerce), Project Director, the General Manager (Insurance and Claims) and the General Manager (Accounts). BSC General Manager (Administration), General Manager (Ship Repair), ship's master, chief engineer and other seafarers, joined online from Nanyang Shipyard. At the same time, officers and employees led by the Executive Director (Technology) from the BSC head office in Chattogram participated virtually.
According to the contract, each ship is valued at US$38.349 million and the combined value of the two ships is US$76.698 million, which is 4.60 percent less than the official estimated value of US$80.40 million.
It is known noting that the first ship of the project, MV 'Banglar Progoti' (previous name: XCL Gemini), was delivered from a Chinese shipyard in October last year and is currently engaged in commercial operations. With the addition of 'Banglar Nabojatra', this new second ships in BSC's fleet has reached seven.
According to BSC sources, the two ships built with modern design and technology, are fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and meet international environmental standards. These ships built with high-quality European and Japanese equipment and materials, are expected to be able to provide continuous service for up to 20 years.
According to BSC's estimates, these two ships will generate an annual income of about Tk 150 crore, which will play an important role in increasing the financial capacity of the company and strengthening the country's seaborne cargo transportation capacity.
