Oil tanker explosions in Jhalakathi: Exposing a fatal repetitive pattern

Infographic: TBS

This month, Sagar Nandini-2 had two fatal explosions, killing four people and causing oil spillage into the Sugandha River.  

Between 1 July and 3 July, carrying 10.81 lakh litres of oil, tanker vessel Sagar Nandini-2 experienced a prolonged fire.  

But that's not all. 

The same vessel previously suffered a hull breach (the breaking or puncturing of a ship's surface) on 25 December last year, causing a massive oil spill into the Meghna River in Bhola. In fact, on 12 November 2021, Sagar Nandini-3, a vessel belonging to the same company, SHR Navigations, suffered an explosion on the Sugandha River. 

As a result of the 2021 explosion, six people were killed.

The explosions raise questions such as why these vessels belonging to the same company met with the same fate within one year and seven months. Were the incidents merely 'accidents' or cases of sheer negligence? 

It seems the questions will remain unanswered as the concerned authorities are surprisingly quiet. They are refusing to even name the shipping container company – which is SHR Navigations.

July 2023 

The first explosion was so strong that it blew away the steel-made vessel's heavy master bridge 20 feet into Sugandha River in Jhalakathi.

Three probe bodies were formed by different authorities with immediate effect. Only the one led by the Jhalakathi district administration's Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) came up with a probe report within one week of the first explosion. 

The ADC reported that Sagar Nandini-2 exploded when a generator was started and it created a spark in the engine room where gas was trapped. The probe confirmed that the vessel had a valid fitness certificate. 

The very day [1 July] as the search and rescue operation was nearing the end, the vessel suffered another fatal blast. This time, at least 14 people – including river police personnel and crew – were injured.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director (Operations and Maintenance) Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury suspects that the second explosion happened because of negligence by those handling the oil.

"The vessel [after the first explosion] was still containing oil and it absorbed heat during that sunny day. We advised Padma Oil [the owner of the consignment and responsible authority to recover the oil in this case] and the container managers to start pumping oil out in the evening but they ignored us," Tajul said.

The National Oil and Chemical Spill Contingency Plan 2020 makes the owner of the sources of spills more responsible than the government to prevent and control spillage. According to the plan, "At the end of the day, the owner of the source, whether public or private, is absolutely responsible for the damage caused in all areas of the physical, environmental, health and financial."  

Oil pumping by a submersible pump might lead to repeated fires in a vessel. Tajul added that the actual reason can be revealed when all the people present during the incident are investigated. For now, the investigation process has been halted as the injured are still under medical supervision.

However, he is quite sure about one thing: neither the vessel had adequate fire safety equipment nor did the crews have the minimum knowledge to deal with emergency fire incidents. 

When a vessel floats on water, the waves create a vapour pressure in the oil-storing compartments. "If not handled properly, the vapour pressure can create an explosion," Tajul said while evaluating the reasons behind the 1 July incident.

However, Fire Service and Civil Defense officials related to the case said the vessel had no emergency fire safety preparedness and trained crews. 

Reasonably, citizens have the right to know about the basic reasons behind the explosions that left four workers dead and several others injured while polluting the river water – home to a rich aquatic life. 

But finding answers over the last week turned out to be a tall order. 

The Department of Shipping issues fitness certificates for vessels and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) issues route permits, operates salvage operations (and more), but has not yet made the probe reports on the Sagar Nandini incidents in 2021 and 2022 public.  

When inquired about previous accidents, Arif Ahmed Mustafa, BIWTA Chairman, after last week's accident told the media that the accidents were in fact investigated. So why were the probe reports not made public? "It was dealt with internally," he was heard telling the media on a news channel.    

And despite several calls, the Department of Shipping's Chief Engineer and Surveyor Manjurul Kabir didn't answer questions from The Business Standard. Finally, on 5 July, he said, "I cannot talk about this matter." 

Requesting anonymity, however, one BIWTA officer said a company's vessels suffering three disasters in less than two years indicates major loopholes in their management. "But who can dare question a VVIP?" he said in frustration. 

After the explosion on 1 July, four out of the nine staff of Sagar Nandini-2 were missing. Their family members crowded the river banks for news of their loved ones. However, officials of the Padma Oil Company - the owner of the consignment, and the shipping container company SHR Navigations were more busy in recovering the oil from the ill-fated tanker. 

The tanker's grease man Abdus Salam's dead body was found in the engine room the next day. 

On 3 July, when the broken down master bridge was salvaged from the riverbed, the dead bodies of master-in-charge Ruhul Amin Khan, supervisor Masudur Rahman Belal, and driver Sarowar were recovered along with it. 

Professor Md Shahidul Islam, head of the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, strongly recommends proper implementation of the country's shipping ordinances in order to prioritise safety.

At present, there are 390 oil tanker vessels in the country. The Inland Shipping Act 2019 prohibits commercial shipping without having adequate lifesaving equipment to combat disasters like explosions and fire. 

As mentioned earlier, after several attempts, the shipping department's Chief Engineer and Surveyor Manjurul Kabir avoided questions on the fitness of Sagar Nandini-2 when contacted by TBS.

Undoubtedly, the incident caused a great loss to state-owned Padma Oil. Till 6 July afternoon, 4.23 lakh out of the 10.81 lakh litres of oil was recovered from the damaged vessel, according to the company's Operations Officer Hossain Ahmad.  

The rest may have been spilled out into the river and burnt in the fire. The oil spillage is particularly concerning as it happened in a fish breeding spot in the river. 

Patuakhali Science and Technology University's environmental science teacher Professor Md Nurul Amin said, "Oil spills instantly lower the oxygen level in the water, causing habitat loss of the aquatic life, primarily across the surface of the water [euphotic zone]."

A large-scale spillage in an intertidal (an area within the tidal range) waterbody can harm the seed germination process on the shore area. If not recovered artificially or biodegraded, the oily substances can settle down to the bottom (abyssal zone) and affect the bottom feeders, the professor warned. 

On 25 December 2022, the Sagar Nandini-2, with 11.34 lakh litres of octane and diesel, sank in the Meghna River after colliding with another ship at Tulatuli in Bhola. The oil spills from the sunken vessel badly impacted the breeding of hilsa.

Massive oil spillage in the Sundarbans on 9 December 2014 – under a different shipping company – sparked environmental concern when an oil tanker with 3.58 lakh litres of heavy fuel sank into the Shela River.

According to Sundarbans Oil Spill Assessment - jointly done by UN Environmental Programmes and the Bangladesh Government – only 19% of the spilled oil could be salvaged. 

A 2017 study titled 'Impact of the oil spill in the Bangladesh Sundarbans' revealed that phytoplankton diversity and abundance were affected by the oil contamination. The study also found the oil spill responsible for the depletion of fisheries resources. 

Have the officials of SHR Navigations ever been held responsible for the incidents since 2021? The concerned authorities have remained silent at best or evasive at worst on these questions. 

TBS tried several times to reach out to SHR Navigations officials. The company chairman's contact number, available in the public domain, was found switched off over the last week. And the website of the company was also found to be shut down.