39-yr-old ship detained in Chittagong
Staff Correspondent, Ctg
A 39-year-old vessel was detained yesterday noon from Chittagong Port for sailing with vulnerable deck and hull that poses risk for lives and properties and the channel. The ship MV Nauroj, own by M/S Ananda Shipyard, was built back in 1958 and it lacked some vital equipment like VHF and rudder, sources said. "There were multiple cracks on the deck and the hull of the vessel too was extremely risky for navigation, yet the ship was carrying a cargo weighing over 1,000 metric tonnes of wheat. Besides, the owner tried to hide some cracks by cementing those," said Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Magistrate Muhammad Munir Chowdhury, who detained the vessel in a drive. The magistrate ordered the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) to cancel the vessel's survey certificate. He said the vessel was once operated by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) with the title MV-1062 and later its ownership was transferred on several occasions before Ananda Shipyard. "As per the law, a vessel that is more than 25 years old is considered as a risky one and supposedly not to get a license," he told The Daily Star.
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