Four vessels arrive with 1.36 lakh tonnes diesel, octane

Four fuel-laden vessels carrying 1.36 lakh tonnes of diesel and octane arrived at Chattogram Port today (17 April). The shipment marks the largest fuel consignment since the supply crisis began in early March following the Middle East conflict.

According to officials and shipping agents, the arriving cargo includes 109,000 tonnes of diesel and 27,000 tonnes of octane. The diesel shipment is expected to meet roughly nine days of national demand, while the octane supply could cover about 22 days.

At present, the country's daily demand stands at 12,500 tonnes for diesel and 1,200 tonnes for octane. 

According to local agent Pride Shipping, the vessel Oaktree, carrying 35,000 tonnes of diesel from South Korea, reached the outer anchorage of the port at around 12pm.

Later in the day, the vessel Lian Song Hu, carrying 41,000 tonnes of diesel from India, arrived at the outer anchorage at about 5pm. At around 8pm, the vessel Nave Cielo, transporting 27,000 tonnes of octane from Malaysia, also reached the anchorage.

Another vessel, Cape Bonny, carrying 33,000 tonnes of diesel from South Korea, arrived at the outer anchorage at around 11pm.

Mohammad Nazrul Islam, managing partner of Pride Shipping, confirmed the development to The Business Standard last night. 

He further explained that the large tankers cannot berth directly at Dolphin Jetty due to their size. "Instead, ship-to-ship transfer will be conducted using two smaller mother vessels, which will subsequently be brought to the jetty," he said.

Nazrul added that the mother vessels had already been positioned at the outer anchorage for the ship-to-ship transfer operation. The process will commence on Saturday (today).

5,000 tonnes of diesel from India

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has begun receiving another 5,000 tonnes of diesel from India through the cross-border pipeline, officials involved in the process said today.

The supply is being delivered to the Parbatipur Padma Oil Depot through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

"Another 5,000 tonnes of diesel has started coming to the Parbatipur Padma Oil depot from India through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline," said Md Ahsan Habib Chowdhury, manager of the Parbatipur depot.

He said the Parbatipur Rail Head Depot began receiving the fuel supply from Thursday morning.

According to energy ministry officials, 8,000 tonnes of diesel arrived at the Parbatipur depot from Numaligarh Refinery Limited on 14 April, while another 22,000 tonnes had been supplied in March.

In total, around 30,000 tonnes of diesel reached the Parbatipur depot from Numaligarh between March and 14 April, sources said.

Depot authorities added that a further 7,000 tonnes of diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Limited is expected to arrive within the next four to five days.

Bangladesh is set to receive a total of 25,000 tonnes of diesel through the pipeline in April.

"The government is continuing to import diesel from India through pipelines to maintain normal fuel stocks and ensure uninterrupted supply," Ahsan said.

Depot authorities also kept the facility open on Friday, a public holiday, to ensure the smooth distribution of fuel, he added.