The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) plans to float tenders in two weeks to purchase two bulk carriers from China using its funds. “I have prepared the tender documents and am waiting for the ministry’s approval to proceed,” BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek told local media.

Mr. Malek returned from China last week after visiting a shipyard called New Dayang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and meeting with Shipping Secretary Mohammed Yousuf. In December of last year, he also visited another shipyard, Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. BSC’s technical team has explored two other shipyards to examine various ships currently under construction.

“We visited shipyards that have the potential to supply vessels, and they are among the leading builders worldwide,” said Mr Malek. He pointed out that most bulk carrier ships are being constructed in China.

He mentioned a plan to solicit proposals from shipbuilders with nearly completed ships to ensure the timely delivery of vessels. According to Mr. Malek, BSC intends to acquire solid bulk carriers that transport products such as coal and fertilizer.

The ships will have a deadweight tonnage of approximately 56,000 DWT, measure around 199 meters in length, 33 meters in width, and have a water draft of nearly 18 meters. After acquiring these vessels, BSC plans to charter them to foreign operators.

“Shipping is currently the most profitable business. I need ships, and we will charter them out,” Mr. Malek stated in an interview with The Financial Express. The corporation is also acquiring two crude oil mother tankers and two mother bulk carriers, funded by the Export-Import Bank of China.

Under a deal signed on October 14, 2023, the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) will supply each oil tanker for $73 million and each bulk carrier for $44 million.

A few years ago, BSC purchased six vessels from China, but one was destroyed in a missile attack in the Red Sea in 2022. Currently, the corporation has five chartered ships.