Fire-hit gas tanker Captain Nikolas seized at Ctg port
The vessel, which had been anchored at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port since the incident, was seized on 11 April after two separate admiralty suits were filed against it, said Faridul Alam, deputy conservator of the CPA
The Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC), Captain Nikolas, which caught fire during a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at the Kutubdia anchorage of Chattogram Port in October last year, has been seized by the port authorities following orders from the High Court of Bangladesh.
The vessel, which had been anchored at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port since the incident, was seized on 11 April after two separate admiralty suits were filed against it, said Faridul Alam, deputy conservator of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
Admiralty suits or admiralty cases are legal cases filed under maritime law, which deals with issues related to ships, shipping, navigation, and maritime commerce.
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The first suit was filed by ATLANTIS GAS DMCC, owners of the vessel BLPG Sophia – another vessel, which was severely damaged in the blaze.
On 9 April, a High Court bench led by Justice Sarder Md Rashed Jahangir issued an arrest order against Captain Nikolas following the hearing.
A second admiralty suit was filed the next day by XENON ENERGY DMCC, another UAE-based company. A High Court bench led by Justice Md Zakir Hossain issued a separate arrest warrant on 10 April after hearing the petition.
"The vessel had been stranded at the port since catching fire in October, carrying around 34,000 tonnes of cargo [LPG]," said Jahurl Alam, director of Seacom, the local agent for Captain Nikolas.
"Since the remaining cargo could not be unloaded and the ship's agent delayed in securing a Clearance Certificate (CC), the owners sought to leave the port. However, the agency instead filed a compensation claim of $14 million through the court," he said.
Jahurl noted that the vessel's Iranian owner has appointed legal counsel to contest the claims and seek the ship's release. "The owner is already suffering huge losses, bearing fixed costs of $45,000 per day for the stranded vessel," he added.
The fire incident occurred in the early hours of 13 October 2024 during an LPG transfer from Captain Nikolas to the lighter vessel BLPG Sophia near Kutubdia in the outer anchorage. The blaze spread rapidly, severely damaging Sophia, though Captain Nikolas sustained minimal impact.
Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy teams responded to the emergency. According to Coast Guard spokesperson Lt Commander Khondoker Munif Taki, the fire aboard Captain Nikolas was extinguished around 3:30am, while the flames on Sophia were brought under control nearly 12 hours later, around 12:30 pm.
The incident raised serious concerns over Captain Nikolas' cargo origin.
According to the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB), Captain Nikolas was one of two tankers that had misreported the country of origin while attempting to unload approximately 70,000 tonnes of LPG at Chattogram Port — potentially violating international sanctions.
The High Court's action marks a significant development in the case, as legal proceedings begin to unfold around compensation claims and allegations of sanction violations linked to the LPG cargo.
