68,450 tonnes of diesel arrive at Ctg Port, jet fuel shipment due today

Fuel shipments continue to arrive at Chattogram Port, with two vessels delivering a combined 68,450 tonnes of diesel between yesterday afternoon and this morning (24 April) and another carrying jet fuel expected to dock later today.

Officials say the diesel received in a single day is enough to meet the country's demand for more than five days, based on a daily requirement of 12,500 tonnes.

The Pakistani-flagged tanker MT Quetta anchored at the port's outer anchorage around 3pm yesterday (23 April), carrying 33,400 tonnes of diesel from Taiwan.

It was followed early today by the Panama-flagged Prive Angel, which arrived from Dubai with 35,055 tonnes.

A third vessel, the Chinese-flagged Xing Tong 799, is scheduled to arrive around 4pm today with 34,600 tonnes of jet fuel from South Korea. At a daily demand of 2,500 tonnes, the shipment is expected to cover nearly two weeks' consumption.

Nazrul Islam, managing partner of local shipping agent Pride Shipping Lines, said diesel unloading from the vessels that arrived yesterday had already begun through lightening.

Instead of the second vessel, priority would be given to unloading jet fuel from the incoming vessel due to low existing stocks, he added.

He said four more vessels were waiting at the outer anchorage, adding that due to their large size, they could not berth at the port's dolphin jetty, necessitating lightening operations at the Kutubdia anchorage using smaller vessels.

Limited jetty capacity—only two berths are available—has further constrained operations, according to Nazrul.

Efforts were underway to expedite the unloading process, he said. Data show that between 28 February—when the US-Israeli war on Iran began in the Middle East—and 21 April, a total of 823,170 tonnes of fuel oil arrived at the port on 26 vessels over 53 days.