Two vessels carrying LPG catch fire in Bay anchorage

A mother vessel, which reportedly imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from countries under international sanctions, and a lighterage vessel caught fire in the outer anchorage at Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar early today.

There were no reported casualties, and the extent of the losses from the fire, which took approximately 12 hours to extinguish, could not be immediately determined, officials familiar with the matter told TBS. 

The fire broke out at around 12:45am when the mother vessel — Captain Nikolas — was transferring LPG to Sophia in the outer anchorage

The blaze on Captain Nikolas was doused at around 3:30am and the flames on Sophia at around 12:30pm, according to coast guard east zone spokesperson Lt Commander Khondoker Munif Taki.

Thirty-one crew members of the lighterage vessel, which was on its way to Chattogram Port, were rescued alive by the Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Coast Guard and no casualties were reported.

Five navy ships, two coast guard ships and several fire and rescue teams worked together to douse the fire, he said.

The coast guard and navy personnel were still working to contain the risk of re-ignition inside the vessel, he said in the afternoon.

They were yet to know the origin of the vessel, how much LPG it was carrying, where it came from and how the fire started, he added.

"The coast guard and other agencies concerned are investigating whether it was an accident or an act of sabotage," said Taki.

The rescued crew members were taken to Hotel Agrabad in Chattogram after they were provided first aid, he said.

Captain Nikolas is one of the two vessels that anchored in Chattogram Port last week to unload about 70,000 tonnes of LPG by misreporting the country of origin of the product, according to the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh.

Probe committee formed

The government today formed a nine-member probe committee to investigate the fire in the two vessels in the Bay of Bengal.

The Chittagong Port Authority formed the committee following the directive of Shipping and Textiles Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, reads a press statement issued in the afternoon.

Commodore M Fazlar Rahman, a member of the Chittagong Port Authority (Harbour and Marine), will lead the investigation committee.

Other members are Captain Md Faridul Alam, deputy conservator at Chittagong Port; Navy Commander Rafiqul Islam; Coast Guard Lt Commander Md Rakibul Islam Tanveer; Lt Md Noor Ashraful Aziz from DGFI; a designated representative from NSI; a designated representative from the Fire Service & Civil Defence; and Captain Sayed Ahmed, controller of the Maritime Education Directorate of Shipping in Chattogram.

The committee was asked to submit its report within the next five working days.

Its objectives include determining the cause of the fire in Captain Nicholas and Sofia, assessing the international standards for LPG transportation, assessing the suitability of the transported LPG, determining damages and liability arising from the incident, and formulating recommendations to prevent similar accidents in the future.

The committee may also review any related matters and submit its findings.