The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) plans to float tenders in a couple of weeks to buy two bulk carriers from China with its own funds.
“I am ready with tender documents. Waiting for the ministry’s approval to float,” BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek told The Financial Express.
He returned from China last week after visiting a shipyard named New Dayang Shipbuilding Co Ltd along with Shipping Secretary Mohammed Yousuf.
Mr Malek earlier visited another shipyard named Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co Ltd in December last year.
The BSC’s technical team earlier also visited two more shipyards to see various under-construction ships.
“We visited the shipyards having the potential to supply ships, and they are top builders worldwide,” said Mr Malek.
The majority of the bulk carrier ships are being constructed in China, he said.
He also said a plan is there to seek proposals from the shipbuilders who have near-ready ships so that they can supply vessels without a long delay. According to him, the BSC plans to buy solid bulk carriers to carry products like coal and fertiliser.
The ships will be of around 56,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT), having around 199 metres of length, around 33 metres of width, and nearly 18 metres of water draft.
After acquiring the vessels, the BSC will charter them out to foreign operators.
“Shipping is the most profitable business now. I need ships. We will charter them out,” Mr Malek told The Financial Express earlier.
The corporation is also working on buying two crude oil mother tankers and two mother bulk carriers with funding from the Export-Import Bank of China.
The China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) will supply each oil tanker at a price of $73 million and each bulk carrier at $44 million as per the deal signed on October 14, 2023.
The BSC bought six vessels from China a few years back. Of those, one was destroyed in a missile attack in the Red Sea in 2022.
Now the corporation has five ships, which have been chartered.
https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/public/last-page/bsc-to-float-tenders-soon-to-buy-two-bulk-carriers-1746383194
