After being stranded in the Persian Gulf for about three and a half months due to the war in West Asia, the 108,000-tonne crude oil tanker “MT Nordic Pollux” has reached the Bangladesh coast.
The ship arrived in Bangladeshi waters on Tuesday morning, but was unable to anchor due to adverse weather conditions.
“MT Nordic Pollux can anchor by 3:00 pm. The ship is now at the Bangladesh [maritime boundary]. It is unable to anchor due to bad weather,” Bangladesh Shipping Corporation General Manager (Chartering and Trumping) Md Mujibur Rahman said, reports bdnews24.com.
“The ship carries 108,625 tonnes of crude oil. The process of unloading the oil will begin after anchoring.”
All the oil imported by the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is transported by another state-owned company, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC).
BSC had hired the ship through a chartering company to transport the oil.
On Mar 3, the Nordic Pollux loaded fuel from the Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia. Then, due to the start of the war, the ship was stranded because it could not pass the Strait of Hormuz.
After being stuck for about 112 days due to the war, the ship crossed the strait on Jun 22.
It reached the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. From there, the ship departed for Bangladesh on Jun 25.
The Cayman Islands-flagged ship was supposed to anchor in the Kutubdia area on Monday, but has not yet arrived due to bad weather.
The “MT Ninemia” had brought in 100,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia on May 6 and another 100,000 tonnes of oil from the Fujairah Port in the last week of June.
In addition, another ship, named “MT Fossil” arrived in Bangladesh from the UAE with 100,000 tonnes of crude oil in mid-May.
Crude oil supply to Bangladesh was suspended after Feb 18 as the war in Iran disrupted supply chains from West Asian countries and shut off the Strait of Hormuz.
As a result of this crude oil crisis, refining operations at the country's only government-owned oil refinery, Eastern Refinery, were "almost halted" from Apr 14.
Since the MT Ninemia first brought oil on May 6, the Eastern Refinery has once again ramped up production.