Coal-laden vessel sinks at Mongla Port

A coal-laden lighter vessel, owned by IRS International, carrying 1,200 metric tonnes of coal sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the outer anchorage area of Mongla Port.

The incident occurred at around 10 pm recently, near the Sundarikotha-Kakabogi Canal in the Pashur Channel.

However, no casualties were reported, as all nine crew members on board managed to swim to safety aboard another vessel.

Confirming the incident, Mongla Port Authority Member (Harbour and Marine) Commodore Md Shafiqul Islam Sarkar said the sunken vessel was located outside the main navigation channel of the Pashur River.

He said the incident had not disrupted port operations, adding that the main channel remained safe and navigation continued as usual.

The vessel’s owner has initiated steps to salvage the sunken ship as quickly as possible, port sources said.

The sunken vessel, MV Phulbari, was transporting coal to Badamtala in Dhaka after loading the cargo from the foreign commercial vessel MV Yas Jupiter at Hiron Point in Mongla Port.

According to crew members and port sources, the vessel was navigating through the Pashur Channel when it was struck by an oil tanker named MT Jannatul Ferdous. The impact damaged the lighter vessel, which subsequently sank with its entire cargo of coal.