Special Correspondent : The number of Bangladeshi flagged ships in maritime trade is increasing. Two new ships `Banglar Navjatra` and `Banglar Pragati` have been added to the fleet of the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC). The two ships were purchased from a company named Hellenic Dry Bulk Ventures LLC in the United States, following a transparent procurement process in accordance with international standards. The estimated value of the ships verified by international valuers was $40.2 million. But BSC purchased each ship for $38.34 million. As a result, it has saved about Tk 500 million compared to the estimated value. The two ships have already earned Tk 500 million. If this trend continues, the entire amount invested will be recovered within the next 6 to 7 years. Misinformation is being spread despite this success of BSC. It is being said that the ships were purchased for $32-33 million considering the 135 technical parameters of the ship, which BSC also said has no documentary basis. BSC considers the achievement of these two ships, with its own funding and capabilities, as its highest commercial success in its 54-year history.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) said that the two new bulk carrier ships named `Banglar Navjatra` and `Banglar Pragati` have advanced technology and world-class equipment. The two ships with modern technology have been built following NECA regulations. They are very effective in controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although the two ships were built in China, their main equipment is of Western and Japanese origin. They are aerodynamically shaped and have dual fuel retrofits. Which are 30 to 40 percent better than other ships of BSC and are highly fuel efficient. BSC said that the two ships have been successfully operating on international routes since their addition to the fleet. The high quality of the two ships has also been demonstrated by declaring `zero deficiency` in every Port State Control (PSC) and class inspection of various countries including the United States, Brazil, Ivory Coast. The company spent $76.698 million to buy the two ships, which is equivalent to Tk 9.35 billion in Bangladeshi taka. BSC expects to earn Tk 1.5 billion annually from the two ships.

The government-owned ship management company BSC has been earning more foreign exchange from transporting goods from other countries than from transporting domestic goods. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, it earned 289.5 crore taka through ship rental, 321.79 crore taka in the 2022-23 fiscal year, and 295.31 crore taka in the 2021-22 fiscal year. BSC, a state-owned company, has shown success in earning 8 billion taka in the last fiscal year. It made a net profit of 306 crore taka. This is considered the highest success in the company`s 54-year history, according to Commodore Mahmudul Malek, Managing Director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.

The state-owned company has strongly condemned and protested the information recently presented in a media outlet about the purchase price, quality and procurement process of the two new ships `Banglar Navjatra` and `Banglar Pragati` that were added to the BSC fleet, stating that it is completely baseless, misleading and an attempt to create confusion in the public mind. Not only that, the BSC`s statement has been presented in fragmented form in the report. The company also commented that an attempt has been made to question the state`s achievements by using some untrue information from the surface web.

In a To The Point report published on Friday (April 3), BSC has highlighted the true truth of the incident. They say that the two ships were purchased through an institutional and collective decision-making process. The BSC`s ship acquisition or purchase process does not depend on the decision of any single person or department. To complete each purchase process, multiple steps have to be passed by separate technical committees, tender committees, estimation committees and class surveyors. Later, the government`s final approval was taken based on the formulation of PDPP and DPP, approval of the Ministry of Shipping, clearances from 12 other ministries concerned, approval from the Ministry of Finance and recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Government Procurement. BSC said that after a thorough analysis by experts and committees at various levels, including the buyer supervisor, and after all government and third-party verification and inspection, these ships were accepted with utmost transparency. Ignoring this institutional collective process and character assassination of any individual is completely intentional and misleading.