Diesel-laden tanker docks at Ctg Port 27,000 tonnes arrive, 4 more coming
A tanker carrying over 27,000 tonnes of diesel arrived in the waters of Chattogram Port on Monday, as concerns over fuel supply persist ten days after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
Shipping agents said four additional diesel tankers are scheduled to reach the port within the coming week.
According to port and shipping sources, the five vessels combined will deliver around 147,205 tonnes of refined diesel imported from several Asian countries.
The latest shipment arrives amid rising diesel demand across the country, partly driven by panic buying following the Middle East tensions.
To conserve reserves, the government has recently reduced the daily supply of fuel.
Port officials said the tanker Xiu Chi, carrying 27,204 tonnes of diesel from Singapore, entered the port’s maritime zone earlier in the day.
Vessel tracking data from MarineTraffic shows that the ship is currently anchored near Kutubdia.
Another tanker, Lian Huan Hu, is expected to arrive tonight from Singapore with nearly 30,000 tonnes of diesel.
The tanker SPT Themis is scheduled to reach the port on Thursday with a cargo of 30,484 tonnes.
Two more vessels — Raffles Samurai and Chang Hang Hong Tu are expected to arrive next Saturday, each carrying about 30,000 tonnes of diesel.
Nazrul Islam, managing director of Pride Shipping Lines, the local agent for four of the vessels, said the tankers are expected to arrive as scheduled within the week.
“Once the ships enter the port waters, unloading will begin one after another,” he said.
According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the country’s average daily diesel demand stands at around 12,000 tonnes. The five incoming shipments together could meet about 12 days of demand.
However, since Sunday the government has reduced daily diesel distribution to approximately 9,000 tonnes in an effort to maintain sufficient reserves.
At that rate, the incoming supply could cover nearly 16 days of demand.
Current fuel reserves are expected to last for another 16 to 17 days. Combined with the incoming shipments, the country would have enough diesel to meet close to a month of demand.
BPC data indicates that diesel accounts for roughly 70 percent of Bangladesh’s total fuel consumption, most of which is imported.
According to the National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh imported 2.328 million tonnes of diesel from nine countries between July and February of the current fiscal year.
Of that amount, about 78 percent came from Singapore, Malaysia and India, while no diesel imports were sourced from Middle Eastern countries during that period.
