Locally made Ro-Ro ferryjoins BIWTC fleet today

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Our Correspondent CHITTAGONG, July 28: The government is having the largest ever locally manufactured Ro-Ro ferry with a capacity of carrying 27 heavy trucks and 370 passengers between Chorjanajat-Mawa and Madaripur route and a pilot-cum-service vessel to carry pilots and sailors from shore to the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port. The Ro-Ro ferry named after the valiant freedom fighter Bir Sreshtho Ruhul Amin will be operated by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) while the pilot vessel PV Rakkhi will be operated by the Chittagong port. The two ships along with two other Ice-class vessels built for German shipping company Grona Shipping will be handed over tomorrow to the representatives of the buyers through a formal ceremony at the Chittagong Port Authority Marine Workshop Ghat at 10.30 am, boarding on BIWTC RO-Ro ferry "Bir Sreshtho Ruhul Amin". Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan will attend the function as the chief guest. Shipping Secretary, BIWTC and CPA officials and Managing Director of Grona Shipping Mr Ebbe Prins, representative of Grona Shipping Mr Bogdan Gavra, MD of German classification society Germanischer Lloyd Mr CF Zaman will attend the function. Western Marine Shipyard Ltd (WMSL), one of the country's leading shipbuilding companies, who have built the vessels in its shipyard at Patiya on the south bank of Karnafuli river, will deliver those Friday morning, said Managing Director of the WMSL Engineer Shakhawat Hossain. He was addressing a press conference at a hotel in the city this afternoon. Chairman of the company Saiful Islam and MD of Grona Shipping Mr Ebbe Prins also addressed the function. Hossain said that Grona Shipping will receive two ice-class vessels, the third among six pairs of the 5200 DWT Ice Class vessels EMSTIDE and EMSWAVE. Four of the same type, size and technology of vessels were earlier handed over to the Grona Shipping. These ships are part of a 12-vessels built for the foreign company. "This is the first time in the modern shipbuilding history in Bangladesh that a local shipyard would make quadruplet delivery to its three distinguished buyers. This event will bring another significant landmark for a Bangladeshi shipyard among the world's shipbuilding countries," he observed. PV Rakkhi is the first and only pilot-cum-service vessel which will be added to the fleet of the CPA from tomorrow. The vessel will not only carry pilots but will be well-equipped to provide emergency service to the incoming and outgoing vessels, Hossain said adding that it is designed to carry 12 passengers and 10 crews with emergency equipment. Saiful said the vessel has been modeled to operate round the year within the coastal and sea region of Bangladesh during monsoon rough sea condition (BF-7) with minimum 3m swell height. Class approved by Germanischer Llyod, the ship is made with highly strengthened steel to withstand heavy bumping with LCCs and VLCCs. Regarding the Ro-Ro ferry they said that it is the first Bangladesh-made ro-ro ferry that will be added to the fleet of BIWTC having 10 Danish and two Chinese made ro-ro ferries. The ferry has been built with very advanced and sophisticated design.