3 lakh 36 thousand tons of diesel is coming to the country this month

Photo: Collected ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

News Desk: A total of 336,379 metric tons of diesel will be added to the country’s fuel supply in March, which may bring some relief to the current energy supply situation. The fuel will be supplied by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). Due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, refined fuel is being imported from alternative countries.

Of the total supply, 281,379 metric tons of diesel will arrive through 11 shipments, while the remaining 55,000 metric tons will be supplied from the country’s refinery and petroleum plants.

Currently, a mother vessel carrying 100,000 tons of crude oil for the country’s only state-owned refinery, Eastern Refinery Limited, is stuck at Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia. The ship, named MT Nordic Polang, was scheduled to depart for Chattogram on the morning of March 2. Although the crude oil had been loaded ahead of schedule, the vessel remains anchored at the port due to the ongoing war situation.

According to BPC sources, 11 diesel shipments from various countries are scheduled to arrive at Chattogram Port during March. A vessel carrying 32,169.07 tons of diesel already arrived at the port on March 3 and has completed unloading the fuel.

Additionally, the tanker “Shiu Chi” entered the port’s waters on Monday (March 9) carrying 27,204.66 tons of diesel, imported from Singapore.

Shipping agents said another tanker named “Lian Huan Hu” carrying 27,005.47 tons of diesel could arrive in Chattogram on Tuesday night (March 10). Another vessel, “SPT Themis,” is expected to reach the port on March 12 with 30,000 tons of diesel. Two more tankers—“Raffles Samurai” and “Chang Hang Hong Tu”—are likely to arrive on March 13, each carrying approximately 30,000 tons of diesel.

BPC sources also said that additional vessels carrying 30,000 metric tons of diesel on March 24, 30,000 metric tons and 10,000 metric tons on March 25, and another 30,000 tons on March 27 are scheduled to reach Chattogram Port within the month.

Officials from BPC said that around 55,000 metric tons of diesel will also be supplied in March from Eastern Refinery Limited and other petroleum plants operating in the country.

Nazrul Islam, Managing Director of the shipping agent Pride Shipping Lines, said the vessels are expected to arrive at the port within a week according to plan. After that, the unloading of fuel will begin gradually.

According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, about 70 percent of the total fuel used in the country is diesel. The daily demand averages around 12,000 tons, most of which depends on imports.

Rear Admiral S. M. Moniruzzaman, Chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority, said that to make the fuel supply system more dynamic, the port is coordinating demand from both government and private sectors and giving special priority berthing facilities to fuel-carrying vessels.

He added that the port authority remains alert and committed to ensuring an uninterrupted fuel supply chain and bunkering operations, maintaining operational efficiency, and safeguarding the country’s energy security.

The port chairman also noted that since the main fuel supply sources for most vessels arriving at Chattogram Port are Singapore and Malaysia, the impact of global geopolitical instability is comparatively lower.