Highlights:
> The ship Meghna Prosper is 16 years old
> Has a capacity of 55,000 metric tons
> Was registered on Thursday
> The Meghna Group now has 16 ships in its fleet
> It wants to add 6 more bulk carriers to its fleet this year
> At present there are 81 ocean faring ships bearing the Bangladesh flag
Meghna Group, an importer of consumer goods and manufacturer of industrial goods, added another oceangoing ship bearing the Bangladeshi flag to its fleet, when Mercantile Shipping, a subsidiary of the Meghna Group, registered the bulk carrier “Meghna Prosper” on Thursday.
The 16-year-old ship has a capacity of 55,000 metric tons and is the 16th ship to be added to the Meghna Group’s fleet of ships.
Of the other ships, 14 are bulk carriers, and two are oil and chemical tankers. The Meghna Group uses the carriers to transport their products but also has about 40% reserved for carrying the goods of others for a fee.
Principal Officer of the Mercantile Marine Office, Captain Md Giashuddin Ahmed, told The Business Standard (TBS) that in the last two years, the highest number of ships have been added to Bangladesh’s domestic fleet.
“The government introduced the Bangladesh Flag Protection Act in 2019 and the Shipping Department is working tirelessly to implement this law,” he said, adding that the sector has a lot of investment opportunities.
The Meghna Group’s Chief Engineer for Mercantile Shipping, Md Abu Taher, said the newly registered ship will launch out to sea in a month. The group hopes to add six more bulk carriers in 2022, he added.
According to the Department of Shipping, before 2012, there were 72 ocean worthy ships flying the Bangladeshi flag, but in 2012 the number came down to 35. Now, this is up to 81 again.
The KSRM Group owns 23 of these ships, the Meghna Group owns 16, the Akij Group 10, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation owns eight, the Karnaphuli Group six, the Bashundhara Group four, Vanguard Maritime Limited five, and the Orion Oil and Shipping Limited one, among others.
The Meghna Group’s Chief Engineer for Mercantile Shipping, Md Abu Taher, said the group has invested around $400 million so far in its fleet of 16 ships.
Source: The Business Standard
