Nine-member panel formed to probe vessel fire at Ctg port
The committee has been tasked to submit its report within the next five working days
The government has formed a nine-member probe committee to investigate the fire in two ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at Kutubdia point of the Bay of Bengal earlier today (13 October).
The Chittagong Port Authority formed the committee following the directive of Shipping and Textiles Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, reads a press statement issued in the afternoon.
Commodore M Fazlar Rahman, a member of the Chittagong Port Authority (Harbor and Marine), will lead the investigation committee.
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Other members are Captain Md Faridul Alam, Deputy Conservator at Chittagong Port; Navy Commander Rafiqul Islam; Coast Guard Lt Commander Md Rakibul Islam Tanveer; Lt Md Noor Ashraful Aziz from DGFI; a designated representative from NSI; a designated representative from the Fire Service & Civil Defence; and Captain Sayed Ahmed, Controller of the Maritime Education (CC) Directorate of Shipping in Chattogram.
The committee has been tasked to submit its report within the next five working days.
Its objectives include determining the cause of the fire in MT Captain Nicholas and B-LPG Sofia, assessing the international standards for LPG transportation, assessing the suitability of the transported LPG, determining damages and liability arising from the incident, and formulating recommendations to prevent similar accidents in the future.
The committee may also review any related matters and submit its findings.
Earlier on the day fire broke out on two vessels when the mother vessel "Captain Nikolas", which reportedly imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from countries under international sanctions, was transferring LPG to lighterage vessel "Sophia" in the outer anchorage at Kutubdia in Chattogram.
Later, members of the Coast Guard and Bangladesh Navy rescued 31 people from the vessel.
Captain Nikolas is one of the two vessels that anchored in Chattogram Port last week to unload about 70,000 tonnes of LPG by misreporting the country of origin of the product, according to the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB).
The fires started at around 12:45am today.
According to Taki and other officials, the fire on Captain Nikolas was doused at around 3:30am and the flames on Sophia were brought under control at around 12:30pm — around 12 hours after the fire started.
