Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority News

Royal IHC and Karnafuly Ship Builders Ltd (KSBL) in Bangladesh have signed contracts for the design, engineering and hardware of four cutter suction dredgers (CSD). The four mono-pontoon custom-built CSDs (2x 700 mm and 2x 600 mm) will be built in Bangladesh by KSBL for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) for maintenance dredging in Bangladesh. Royal IHC will provide yard assistance for the installation, testing and commissioning of the equipment and the CSDs.Ronald van Son…

India and Bangladesh discussed various issues pertaining to the protocol arrangements and improvement of inland water transportation between the two countries in the 19th Standing Committee meeting under ‘Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade’ (PIWTT)held at  New Delhi.The meeting was attended by high level delegations that included representatives of Ministries of  Shipping, External Affairs, Home, Finance, DONER and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and officials from Bangladesh belonging toMinistry of Shipping, Board of Revenue, DG (Shipping)  and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).The two sides agreed to consider inclusion of Rupnarayan river (National Waterway-86) from Geonkhali to Kolaghatin West Bengal in the protocol route.

A cyclone battered coastal Bangladesh on Saturday, killing at least 21 people and injuring many more, but has now weakened into a depression that the weather office said could still bring brief periods of violent wind or rain. Authorities in low-lying Bangladesh have moved about 500,000 people into 3,500 shelters, the disaster minister said. Cyclone Roanu has killed people in house collapses, landslides and a storm surge that broke embankments at two places in the Chittagong port city in the southeast. "We've shifted most of the people who are vulnerable," said Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, adding that people were working "all-out" to contain and tackle the damage.

At least 33 people died in Bangladesh on Sunday when a passenger ferry capsized after colliding with a trawler on the river Padma with more than 100 people aboard, police said. Rescuers managed to save at least 50 passengers and were still searching for more survivors, regional police official Bidhan Tripura told Reuters. Low-lying Bangladesh, with extensive inland waterways and slack safety standards, suffers regular ferry disasters, with deaths sometimes running into the hundreds. The 33 bodies retrieved so far from the water include a baby, Tripura said. Police have seized the trawler and arrested two of its crew, he said. Another police team, assisted by firemen and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, is trying to salvage the ferry, he said.

4 x CSD 500 for the Bangladesh Water Development Board. The dredgers were built at the Karnafuly Chittagong Shipyard, where they have been commissioned by a joint specialist team with employees from both VOSTA LMG and Karnafuly. With this delivery included, VOSTA LMG and Karnafuly have delivered a total of fifteen cutter-suction dredgers, which are employed to keep the Bangladesh waterway system navigable. VOSTA LMG has been responsible for providing engineering services, dredging equipment and supervision during the construction of the CSD’s. VOSTA LMG’s expertise – acquired over more than a century – and the workmanship of the Karnafuly Shipyard made it possible to construct the dredgers onsite and turned the project into a success.

Authorities in Bangladesh investigating the sinking of a ferry with nearly 250 people on board have lodged murder charges against the owner and five others, including the captain, taking an unprecedented step in a country where such disasters are all too common. The ferry, the MV Pinak-6, went down on Monday in a river swelled by monsoon rains about 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the capital, Dhaka, on Monday. By early Wednesday, rescuers battling strong currents and choppy waves on the Padma river had given up hope of finding alive many of the 133 people still missing, officials in Munshiganj district said. There were 110 survivors, and seven bodies had been found.

Rescue workers in Bangladesh completed the search of a stricken river ferry on Saturday, bringing the number of bodies recovered to 54 two days after the vessel capsized with around 200 people on board. "We were able to salvage the capsized ferry today and there are no more bodies inside the wreck," said Saiful Islam Badal, deputy commissioner of Munshiganj district. About 40 people swam to shore and 35 were rescued after the double-decker ferry went down in the Meghna river near the capital Dhaka during a storm on Thursday afternoon, police and rescue officials said. An official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said the M.V Miraj 4 ferry had capacity for 122 passengers…

Rescue workers in Bangladesh expected to find scores of bodies on Saturday trapped between the decks of river ferry that capsized two days earlier with around 200 people on board. About 40 people swam to shore and 35 were rescued after the double-decker ferry went down in the Meghna river near the capital Dhaka during a storm on Thursday, police and rescue officials said. Forty-five bodies have been recovered so far, according to officials in the Munshiganj district, and authorities have given up hope of finding anyone else alive. An official of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said that the M.V Miraj 4 ferry had capacity for 122 passengers…

In late 2008 a joint venture was formed between the Netherlands based Vosta  LMG and the Bangladesh Karnafuly Shipyard to build three CSD450 cutter suction dredgers for the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. At the same time construction was underway to an agreement that had been signed with the Bangladesh Water Development Board for two CSD650 cutter suction dredges under the same joint venture. The model numbers 450 and 650 designate the diameter in centimeters of the dredge’s internal discharge pipe. Both of these larger dredges were delivered in mid-year 2012.

The Bangladeshi Ministry of Shipping oversees the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) which is responsible for managing the country’s extensive network of inland rivers, canals and ports. The Authority also mandates and manages pilotage for those waters and vessels requiring a pilot. To undertake a wide range of responsibilities the Authority has a fleet of vessels to which they have recently added a powerful new tug. Built in Pusan, Korea by the Dong Hae Shipbuilding yard to a design by Komac Design Tech Co,.

The VOSTA LMG – Karnafuly Joint Venture Consortium Limited has signed a contract with the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). The contract is signed for the delivery of two CSD 650 including components for a floating pipe line for both dredgers. The contract signing ceremony for the delivery of two Cutter Suction Dredgers 650 took place December 6th in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Construction will take place in Bangladesh at the Karnafuly Shipyard. VOSTA LMG will supply two engineering and components packages for the 2 CSD 650 to the shipyard. This is the second business that VOSTA LMG is doing in a Joint Venture Consortium Limited with Karnafuly Shipyard (Pvt.) Ltd. in Bangladesh. The first is the delivery of three CSD 450’s for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).