2 ships collide at Bangladesh's main port

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Two ships collided head-to-head at the vessel channel at Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port on Friday morning, according to port authorities.

No casualties were reported but a good part of both ships have been reportedly damaged.

The incident took place at around 8.30 a.m. local time (0230GMT) when a feeder vessel carrying 750 containers from Sri Lanka collided with an oil tanker at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port -- halting marine traffic on the Karnaphuli River, according to media reports.

“During the accident, water flow at the channel was very strong and there was a high tide,” Mohammad Zafar Alam, an official of the Chittagong Port authority, told Anadolu Agency.

Both ships will be sent to dock for repairing, Alam said, adding: “Our main challenge was to free the vessel route, or channel to resume marine traffic after the accident and we have done it successfully.”

He said a three-member inquiry committee has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the incident.

The Chittagong Port is the principal seaport of Bangladesh handling about 92 percent of import-export trade of the country.