Pak rice ship sinks in Bay of Bengal

DHAKA - A North Korean ship transporting 13,492 tonnes of rice imported from Pakistan for Bangladesh is sinking in the bay after it collided with a ship at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port late Wednesday night. Almost three-fourths of the ship MV Hyang Ro Bong went under water by yesterday afternoon since the crack due to the impact could not be repaired in the face of strong current in the sea. The rice could not be saved. After day-long efforts to salvage the ship and bring it to shore with the help of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the officials of the ships local agent Fortune Shipping gave up yesterday around 5:00 pm. They sent six divers to do the repair job. Earlier in the morning, CPA sent Fortune Shipping a letter asking to take immediate measures to repair the crack and bring the ship ashore. Shoumen Chakravarty, manager of Fortune Shipping, told The Daily Star yesterday around 5:20 pm, Most parts of the ship have sunk and there is no hope now as the Bay is still very choppy. According to Chittagong Port Radio Control, MV Hyang Ro Bong with 41 crew members and the rice hit the front part of MV Bongo Lanka, which was anchored at C-Anchorage, while entering the outer anchorage of the port around 11:30pm Wednesday. The collision caused a crack in the engine room of MV Hyang Ro Bong and tilted it, said CPA Secretary Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmed, adding that the 31 crew members had been shifted to another ship. CPA officials led by Deputy Conservator Captain Nazmul Alam and Harbour Master Captain AKM Jafar Ullah Chowdhury rushed to the spot immediately after the accident. Shoumen said they tried to unload the rice but failed as the crane of the ship could not be operated due to generator failure. A team comprised of CPA Dock Master Captain Faridul Alam, Magistrate Mohiuddin Al Faruk and Department of Environment (DoE) Deputy Director Jafar Alam visited the spot around 4.30pm. A huge quantity of fuel oil was also found leaking in the Bay from the ship. The CPA took steps to neutralise the oil to prevent pollution. Captain Faridul said they are spraying oil spill dispersant. CPA Secretary Farhad said a probe body comprised of representatives from CPA, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Coast Guard and Mercantile Marine Department would be formed to investigate the accident.