Published: 12:15 AM, 22 April 2026
Giant ship carrying Saudi crude oil leaves for Ctg
1,01,000 tons of diesel, octane arrive
'MT Ninemia' has left for Chattogram with one hundred thousand tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia at 6am (Bangladesh time) on Tuesday. -Agency
A tanker ship named 'MT Ninemia' has left for Chattogram with one hundred thousand tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia to resolve the country's energy crisis.
The ship set sail from Yanbu Port, Saudi Arabia, at 3am Saudi local time (6am Bangladesh time) on Tuesday (21 April 2026). The ship does not have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Eastern Refinery Deputy General Manager Md. Mostafizur Rahman confirmed the matter to The Asian Age.
He said the ship, loaded with crude oil, departed for Chittagong at 3 am local time. It is expected to reach the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port after 12 days.
Sources said that the crude oil distillation unit of the country's only state-owned oil refinery, Eastern Refinery PLC, has been closed since the night of February 12 as the crude oil stock has already run out. However, due to the war in the Middle East, the 'Nordic Pollux' ship, loaded with one lakh tons of crude oil, is waiting at the Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia, awaiting clearance to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In the meantime, initiatives were taken to import crude oil from Malaysia, but it did not materialize in the end. Bangladesh currently has a demand of about 7.2 million tons of fuel oil per year. Of this, the government-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has to meet the demand by importing 92 percent. The remaining 8 percent is available from local sources. Of the fuel supplied, ERL refines 1.5 million tons of crude fuel.
The country imports 6.5 to 6.8 million tons of fuel oil every year, of which diesel and crude oil account for the majority.
About 1.5 million tons of crude oil comes from Middle Eastern countries, which is refined at the Eastern Refinery. The Eastern Refinery produces 16 types of oil products, including LPG, gasoline, octane, kerosene, diesel and furnace. Refining crude oil reduces fuel prices, produces about 16 types of fuel products, and strengthens the country's energy security.
Meanwhile, three oil tankers carrying 1,01,000 tonnes of diesel and octane reached outer anchorage in Chattogram on Tuesday.
The ships, in Bangladesh's waterways, will gradually dock at the jetty and fuel will be discharged soon.
According to the BPC, the oil tankers include MT Lian Song Hu carrying about 41,000 tons of diesel, MT Pacific Indigo carrying about 33,000 tons of diesel and MT Nav Cielo carrying about 27,000 tons of octane.
Oil tanker MT Lian Song Hu carrying about 41,000 tons of diesel and MT Pacific Indigo carrying about 33,000 tons of diesel came from India, while MT Nave Cielo carrying about 27,000 tons of octane from Taiwan.
>>Bashir Al Mamun, AA
