Published: May 30, 2025, 07:08 PM
Amid turbulent weather in the Bay of Bengal, four ships were forced ashore on the coasts of Patenga and Anwara in Chattogram on Thursday night.
At Anwara, two vessels-Mermaid-3, a barge, and Navimar-3, a tugboat-crashed into the shore after losing control in strong waves. Both vessels had been anchored within the Chittagong Port maritime zone due to unresolved legal disputes, with five lawsuits still pending.
Mermaid-3 had carried large stones from India nearly two years ago for the construction of the SS Power Plant in Banshkhali, Chattogram. Despite providing support, the owners of Navimar-3 have not been compensated, nor has their local agent, Vision Shipping Company.
A Vision Shipping Company official stated, “The vessel owners are unresponsive. Even without payment, we’ve continued assigning four guards to monitor the vessels.” One of the guards, Miskatur Rahman, confirmed the vessels went adrift due to the forceful waves before striking the shore.
In a separate incident the same night, M.V. Al Herem and BLPG Sophia became stranded on the Patenga coast due to similar stormy conditions. Notably, the BLPG Sophia had previously suffered severe damage from an explosion and fire while transferring LPG gas in October.
The incidents have raised concerns over maritime safety during the ongoing spell of rough weather in coastal regions.
