Two more vessels carrying octane, furnace oil due at Ctg port Wednesday

Amid concerns over fuel supplies following the war in the Middle East, two more vessels carrying octane and furnace oil are scheduled to arrive at Chattogram Port on Wednesday.

Of the vessels, the Marshall Islands-flagged “MT Central Star” is transporting 26,000 tonnes of octane from Malaysia. Another tanker, “MT Eastern Quince”, is carrying 25,000 tonnes of furnace oil, said sources at the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.    

Meanwhile, two more vessels carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arrived at Chattogram Port on Sunday.

According to sources at the Marine Department of Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), the vessel “Cool Voyager” carrying LNG arrived from Nigeria and anchored at the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Its unloading is expected to be completed by Wednesday.

Another vessel, Gas Journey, transporting LPG from China, also arrived on the same day and is now stationed at the Carlie Anchorage of the port, with unloading expected to be completed by Wednesday.

Earlier, a vessel “Shan Gang Fa Xian,” carrying 34,000 tonnes of diesel from Malaysia, arrived at the port on 5 April. It remained berthed at the DOJ-6 jetty, with unloading expected to be completed by Tuesday.

On 3 April, another oil tanker, “Yuan Jing He”, carrying around 27,000 tonnes of diesel from Singapore, berthed at the port jetty.

In addition, the LPG carrier “Gas Challenger,” which arrived from India on 31 March, is now stationed in the Bhatiary area.

Following the joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran on 28 February, the resulting conflict in the Middle East disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting the fuel imports for countries, including Bangladesh.

Consequently, several energy-laden ships could not reach the country on time, putting pressure on supply. Under the circumstances, the government has taken the initiative to procure fuel from alternative sources.

According to the officials in the CPA, over 40 vessels have reached the country with Monoethylene Glycol (MEG), High Sulfur Fuel Oil (HSFO), crude oil, gas oil, LPG, LNG, and base oil since the war began.