Ship with 950 tonnes of coal sinks in Pasur River

Bangladesh

A ship carrying 950 tonnes of coal to Jashore has capsized in the Pasur River hours after starting from Mongla Port in Bagerhat district.

The 11 crew members of the ship, MV Ishra Mahmud, swam ashore after the incident in the Charkana area of the river around 11:00 am on Saturday.

The ship started for Nawapara port in Jashore with the coal for a private firm from MV Paras, a vessel bearing the flag of Marshall Island, at 7:30 pm on Friday.

Kazi Kamrul Islam, master of MV Ishra Mahmud, said the ship’s hull cracked near the buoy of the Banishanta Bazar area. The ship started to sink after it reached the Charkana area.

After the crew members swam ashore, the owners of the ship then made arrangements for the coal to be transferred to a barge, Kamrul said.

Md Makruzzaman, a spokesman for Mongla Port Authority, said the Pasur channel of the port remained normal and out of danger after the shipwreck.

Ships with hundreds of tonnes of coal sinking in the river near the Sundarbans mangrove forest is nothing new.

Since January 2017, at least seven ships carrying coal have sunk in the river