Bunker sale to
ships calling at the country's prime maritime port of Chittagong remains
suspended for about one month following the haul of large quantity of furnace
oil by law enforcers at Anu Majhir Ghat area in the city ahead of the delivery
of the consignment to unauthorised quarters.
Due to suspension
of the bunkering business since May 20 the country has been devoid of a minimum
earning worth US$ 15 million in foreign exchange, according to estimates of the
shipping business.
Normally there is a
sale of more than 20,000 tonnes of furnace and diesel oil a month to the
foreign and local ships calling at the port. Furnace oil, the main consumption
of the seagoing vessels, is sold at $ 90 a tonne and marine diesel at $950, as
per rate of state-owned Jamuna Oil Company, which is entitled to supply the
fuel to the ships in the port.
Jamuna Oil, a
subsidiary of BPC (Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation), under the ministry of
energy, power and mineral resources, stopped bunkering to the ships years back
for reasons best known to them, an official of Chittagong Port Authority said.
By that time the
business developed in the private sector as a group of bunker suppliers started
in a limited scale supply of furnace oil to the foreign bulk cargo and some
local feeder vessels, which also remains stopped since May 20 last. The private
traders procure the oil from the ship breaking yards at Sitakunda seacoast of
Chittagong.
Executive director
of Rainbow Shipping Lines and senior vice chairman of Bangladesh Shipping
Agents Association Kamal Hayat has said, bunker sale in Chittagong Port remains
practically suspended for a month while the country is loosing at least $15
million a month on account of bunker supply only due to negligence of proper
authority in the government to this hugely potential sector.
He said that
Bangladesh can supply a good quantity of furnace oil of the scrap ships to the
seagoing ships in Chittagong Port and its outer anchorage, as well as other
industrial plants, if rules are formulated for environmentally procuring,
storing and supplying of the fuel from the ships brought for dismantling,
through the qualified and trained workers now engaged at the shipbreaking
yards.
Regarding the
seizure of furnace oil delivered from the Padma Oil Company's Guptakhal Depot
at Patenga he said, "Incidents of misappropriation of the
government-imported oil are nothing new. It is for the first time that it has
been detected by the law enforcers but this illicit trading has been done over
the last 10 years. But that should stand on the way of growing up a huge
potential sector."
He said that a
group of corrupt officials of the oil marketing companies and influential
people are involved in the process of taking delivery of furnace, bitumen etc
in the name of different industrial plants by submitting false papers.
The government is
importing huge quantity of furnace oil from abroad every year. In the last
April also the government decided to import 0.12 million tonnes of furnace oil
to meet fuel demand of the quick rental power plants, he said adding that a
good percentage of our furnace oil demand can be met if the oil available from
the scrap ships is procured through proper policy guidelines.
Source: the
financial express. By Pankaj Dastider. 16 June 2012
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=133246&date=2012-06-17
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