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The MT Nordic Pollux, carrying more than 100,000 tonnes of crude oil for the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), is set to arrive in Bangladesh today, after being stranded in the Strait of Hormuz for 112 days.
The Cayman Islands-flagged tanker was originally scheduled to arrive on Monday but its arrival was delayed by a day due to adverse weather.
Capt Md Mujibur Rahman, General Manager (Chartering and Tramping) of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), confirmed the development to Jago News.
He said the tanker is now expected to reach the Kutubdia anchorage at around 8:00 am on Tuesday.
According to BSC sources, the vessel departed from Ras Tanura Port in Saudi Arabia carrying crude oil for Eastern Refinery PLC. However, it became stranded in the Strait of Hormuz on March 3 due to restrictions imposed amid heightened conflict in the Middle East.
After remaining stranded for nearly 112 days, the tanker finally resumed its voyage to Bangladesh on June 22.
The vessel is carrying 108,625 tonnes of crude oil imported by the BPC for Eastern Refinery PLC. Bangladesh Shipping Corporation transports all of the BPC’s imported crude oil. In this case, the tanker was chartered through Nordic Energy, a company contracted by BSC.
Sources at Eastern Refinery said another tanker, MT Ninemia, is currently anchored at Kutubdia carrying 102,280 tonnes of Arabian Light crude oil, with unloading operations underway. The vessel arrived from Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia on June 17. It had earlier delivered another 100,000-tonne cargo of the same grade from Yanbu on May 6, before returning to Saudi Arabia for the current shipment.
Meanwhile, the MT Fossil delivered 99,769 tonnes of Murban crude oil from Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates on May 21.
Eastern Refinery, owned by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, is the country’s only oil refinery and relies entirely on imported crude oil. Bangladesh imports Arabian Light crude from Saudi Arabia and Murban crude from the UAE under government-to-government (G2G) agreements.
All imported crude oil is transported by the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation using chartered tankers, currently leased from the US-based company Nordic Energy.