Union of Soviet Socialist Republic or simply Soviet Union was the only veto wielding power of UN that stood tall for the Bangladeshi struggle for independence. It was also one of the first countries who came forward with humanitarian aid for the battle-scattered new republic. To get help from the Liberation W ar ally Soviet Union for demining and salvaging sunken ships in a war-ravaged and newly born maritime country, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman paid a visit to Moscow and met with the then Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet Premier Kosygin and other important ministers and principle defence officials. With the Soviet navy’s help, Chattogram port became free from mines by December of 1973. And, that heroic tale of historic demining and salvaging operation by the brave Soviet heroes is narrated in our Lead Story.
After a long period of backlog, Bangladesh’s marine shipping industry has stepped on the track to explore the horizon. Actually, the private sector is prompting the expansion of Bangladeshi fleets. This ongoing development has also boosted Bangladesh’s position in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Our article in ‘Perspective’ section elaborated the potential of maritime shipping from the perspective of Bangladeshi flag carrier ships.
The article in the ‘Horizon’ section suggests that to combat obstacles caused by climate change, the government has to take some necessary steps. It has to identify which marine areas are important for the economy and then take planned actions to conserve these areas. It is equally important for the government to pay attention to the parts of the marine ecosystems which are important and holds potential for developing the Blue Economy. At the same time, it is important to notice how climate change may be affecting these potentials.
In addition, the ‘Newsbytes’ section will keep you up to date on all of the major maritime events and developments that occurred in the second quarter of this year.
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