CHATTOGRAM, Jan 16: Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), the state-owned shipping company of Bangladesh, has initiated the process of expanding its fleet into a 20-ship one, with adding newly-purchased vessels.
Of the total, one new ship would be added to the corporation's fleet on January 30 this year; one was added on November 20 last year while six new ships would be added to the fleet in the next couple of years.
Sources said the second ship, MV Banglar Nabajatra, purchased with BSC's own fund would join the fleet of BSC on January 30 next.
Six years after purchasing three ships in December 2019, BSC has purchased two new ships with its own money recently.
Among them, MV Banglar Pragati, first joined the BSC fleet and started operating while MV Banglar Nabajatra is waiting to join.
Sources said 'MV Banglar Pragati' arrived at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port on November 20 last. 'MV Banglar Pragati' is now being run by a Hong Kong-based company named LTE for a daily rental of $20,000.
Sources said after deciding to buy ships, BSC invited international tenders on June 3, 2025. The tender to buy ships at a competitive price stipulated that the ships under construction or new would be delivered within six months.
Although the ships were built in a Chinese shipyard, the American company Hellenic Dry Bulk Ventures LLC is the supplier of the two ships.
They have already delivered MV Banglar Pragati to BSC as per the terms of the tender while MV Banglar Nabajatra would be delivered in the current month.
MV Banglar Nabajatra has the capacity of 63,500 tonnes. The ship is 199.99 metres long and has a draft of 13.5 metres. It is 32.26 metres wide. With the addition of the ship, the number of ships in BSC's fleet will rise to seven. Of them, three are for transporting fuel oil and four for carrying open cargo. The two new ships could generate an additional income of more than Tk 2.0 billion (Tk 200 crore) per year.
Meanwhile, BSC handed over a cheque for 2.0347 billion (Tk203.47 crore) to the government, covering loan installments and dividend payments related to six ship procuring projects implemented under the Ministry of Shipping on January 13 last. The cheque was formally handed over to the Chief Adviser of the interim government.
Managing Director of BSC, Commodore Mahmudul Malek, said, "BSC is moving forward with short, medium and long-term strategies to expand its commercial fleet in line with national development goals, the SDGs and the blue economy agenda, with the aim of becoming a self-reliant and internationally competitive shipping company." He also said, "Under a China government-backed loan, BSC had already acquired six vessels in the 2018-19 fiscal year, including three product oil tankers and three bulk carriers of around 39,000 DWT each. Five of those vessels are currently operating commercially in BSC's fleet."
He said that for the first time in its history, BSC is implementing a project entirely with its own financing to acquire two bulk carriers of 55,000-66,000 DWT. The project was approved by the Ministry of Shipping on June 3, 2025, with the procurement proposal later endorsed by the government's advisory committee on public purchase and approved by the chief adviser on August 17. A contract was signed with supplier Hellenic Dry Bulk Ventures LLC on September 21, 2025.
"Under the agreement, the first vessel, MV Banglar Pragati, has already been delivered and deployed commercially, while the second vessel, MV Banglar Nabajatra, is scheduled for delivery in January 2026," he added.
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