The ship carrying export cargo containers was sinking. The accident caused a tilt of seven degrees. Fearing immediate damage, the ship was rescued from the Bay of Bengal by special arrangements and brought to the jetty by Chittagong port. The wrecked ship was anchored at the private Karnaphuli Dry Dock Jetty on Wednesday (4 April) with the help of six tugboats.
The ship has 1,156 containers. Of this, about Tk 800 crores’ worth of export products are in about 700 single containers. The lion’s share of export products is from the garments industry.
The ship, owned by a Vietnamese company, is called MV Haian City.
The ship was on its way to Singapore on 14 April with containers loaded with export goods. The MV Haian City ship collided with an oil tanker near Kutubdia in the Bay of Bengal. An empty container fell into the sea from the ship. Water leaked inside through the hull of the ship and tilted it about seven degrees. The containers on one side of the ship crashed into one another.
The ship was not allowed to leave the port after the accident due to a lack of manoeuvrability and no agreement on compensation. Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of the port authority, held several meetings with senior officials of Chittagong port, ship owners’ representatives, local agents, rescue agencies, representatives of ship insurance companies, navy, coast guard, and other agencies to rescue the ship at risk of sinking. It was then decided to bring the ship to the jetty under special arrangements.
