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Worn-out vessels still in use for rescue

Modern salvage vessels expected not before 2 years

Helemul Alam
The government will still have to depend on its two outdated salvage vessels for rescue operations in any launch capsize, as it would take two and half more years to buy new ones.
A project to procure two modern selvage vessels, approved in December 2005 and scheduled to be completed by December 2007, is yet to be done due to bureaucratic tangle, sources of BIWTA said.
The tender procedure will take around three months and the bidders, who will get the work order to make the vessels, will be allotted 22 to 24 months, said a BIWTA official.
"We expect to get the final bidding documents in a week and will invite tender after that," said M Abdul Maleque Miah, chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWIA).
The government has two age-old selvage vessels -- MV Hamza and MV Rustam -- capability of which has reduced significantly.
Hamza and Rustam, each with 60-tonne capacity, were bought from Germany in 1964 and from Belgium in 1983, respectively.
The usual service period of a rescue vessel is about 20years, which means the Hamza should have been withdrawn at least 20 years ago while the Rustam four years back, said another official of BIWTA.
Many of the passenger and cargo vessels carry more than 300 tonnes, including weight of the vessel, but Hamza and Rustam together can pull a maximum of 100 tonnes, he said.
He added the existing vessels are equipped with the most outmoded and slow-paced apparatus and run by untrained manpower.
It is very difficult to conduct rescue operation during major disasters with only two such vessels, the official said. As the vessels are usually kept in Narayanganj and in Barisal, it takes too much time for them to reach the accident sites.
MV Hamza is being used in rescuing MV KoKo-4 that capsized in the river Tentulia near Nazirpur launch terminal on November 27.
MV Rustam was expected to Join the operation by yester-day though Hamza and Rustam jointly are unable to rescue the KoKo-4 properly as they together have only 120 tonne capacity and the weight of capsized launch is around 550 tonnes, said the BIWTA chairman.
I he government will procure two salvage vessels at a cost of around Tk 263 crore with the assistance from South Korea, said another official of BIWTA.
A Minutes of Discussion in this regard was signed between the two governments on January 31,2005, he said.
Korea will provide around Tk 180 crore as soft loan while the government the remaining fund, he said adding the loan would be repaid in 30 years with a 10-year grace period.
Both the vessels, each 250-tonne capacity, will have modern equipment to detect sunken launches rapidly in deep water, he said. They will enhance the capacity of salvage drive and speed up the operation ultimately reducing death toll in launch accidents.’