Can’t rescue stranded Banglar Samriddhi crew without ensuring safety: BSC

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) will not move the crew of its stranded ship  "Banglar Samriddhi" without ensuring their safety, said BSC Executive Director (Commerce) Piyush Dutta.

"If we do not get permission from those who are occupying the riverbank, where will we unload them and take them?" he said at the BSC office on Thursday (3 March).

When asked why the ship was sent to Ukraine during the war, the BSC executive director said: "The ship went to the port after receiving security from our chartered company."

"The stranded sailors are urging to rescue them. We are working on the situation," he further said, adding that efforts are underway to evacuate the crew of  Banglar Samriddhi to Poland from war-torn Ukraine.

"The crew are currently on the ship. The body of the deceased sailor is also kept on the ship. Considering the situation, we feel until security can be assured, the sailors are better kept on the ship," said Piyush Dutta.

He also said that following the attack, the ship's condition also has to be inspected. 

BSC General Manager Captain Md Mujibur Rahman said, "The ship's navigation gate was damaged in the attack."

"There is no security outside at the moment. No one is providing security. Everyone is still on board. Sailors inside the ship seem safer than outside. Power, fuel oil, food are all on board. The next decision will come from the government, the steps will be taken according to the situation," the shipping corporation official said added.

A Bangladeshi sailor was killed after Banglar Samriddhi came under a missile attack in Ukraine last night.

"The deceased is Hadisur Rahman, third engineer of the ship," fellow sailor Salman Sami told The Business Standard on Wednesday (2 March) night.

"The ship caught fire during the attack around 9:25pm.  We were able to put out the fire immediately. Hadisur Rahman was killed in the attack. Everyone else is okay," he added.

Russian and Ukrainian troops have been firing missiles at each other over Buh River. Sami could not confirm whose missile hit the ship.

Banglar Samriddhi – with 29 sailors on board has been stranded in the Olvia port of Ukraine since Russia invaded the Eastern European country.

Relatives of the surviving 28 sailors who have been stranded on the ship have gathered in front of the BSC office in Chattogram since Thursday morning.