Asia/Pacific News
Bangladesh Seeks Smoother Bunker Supply
The Bangladeshi government is moving to improve the supply of bunkers at the nation's two sea ports, and shipping companies are calling for more private suppliers to be permitted, the Bangladeshi business newspaper Financial Express reports.
The Jamuna Oil Company Ltd (JOCL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is now the only agent authorised to supply fuel at Chittagong or Mongla ports, but the company is closed on Fridays and Saturdays, holidays, and during non-working hours, making it difficult to buy fuel in emergencies.
BPC has written a draft of the policy already.
"The policy aims at establishing a sound supply chain of bunker fuel in the country's seaports, which include its sourcing, transportation and availability," said BPC Chairman Md Eunusur Rahman.
JOCL policies also require ships to ask for fuel several days before receiving the supply, and the limited hours of availability limit sales to foreign ships and sometimes leave vessels stranded at port waiting for bunkers to become available, one source said.
At least 200 ships that operate on the Chittagong-Singapore and Chittagong-Colombo routes buy fuel from Singapore and Colombo ports rather than Chittagong because of the difficulty fuelling there, according to a company official.
"We want the policy to be formulated in such a way that more dealers including the private ones come up and supply bunker fuel to ocean-going ships," said Amirul Haque, managing director of Chittagong-based Seacom Shipping Lines Limited.
Shipping companies and the president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued calls last summer for better bunkering policies at Chittagong.
