Two LPG carriers conducting a cargo transshipment operation off the coast of Bangladesh went up in flames on Sunday.
The fires were eventually extinguished by Bangladesh’s navy and coast guard, and although a major disaster has been narrowly averted, the incident has raised yet again the lack of safety standards on board ships that have been accused of transporting sanctioned oil and gas.
The vessels identified as being involved in Sunday’s incident were the 78,500-cbm VLGC Captain Nikolas (built 1992) and the 6,500-cbm fully pressurised gas carrier B-LPG Sophia (built 1997).
Both ships have in recent years passed through the hands of several small managers while hoisting a variety of different flags.
Multiple Bangladeshi media sources reported senior crew members of the vessels as saying the fire started while the two LPG carriers were separating from each other after completing the lightering operation.
According to senior officials at the Bangladesh Coast Guard’s Eastern Zone, which covers the port of Chittagong, the crew of Captain Nikolas managed to extinguish the fire on board their ship before any significant damage was done.
The 18 crew members on board the B-LPG Sophia, together with mooring gangs and security guards, abandoned the ship and were subsequently rescued by a tugboat.
No casualties have been reported.
The fire on board the B-LPG Sophia was reported as extinguished on Sunday afternoon, with the vessel subsequently being moved to a safe anchorage.
The Cook Islands-flagged Captain Nikolas is listed by S&P Global’s International Ships Register as being owned by Folegandros Maritime, a single-ship entity registered in Panama, and managed by Aspero Ship Management, a company whose address is a serviced office in the Sharjah free zone in the United Arab Emirates.
The Captain Nikolas, like other ships under Aspero’s management, has been linked to transporting sanctioned Iranian LPG by United Against Nuclear Iran, a Washington lobby group that tracks US-sanctioned oil shipments from Iran.
Aspero has routinely denied such activities when questioned by shipping media.
In June, the crew of the Captain Nikolas was listed as abandoned in Sharjah by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The 25 crew members, 18 of whom were Ukrainian, were owed three months of wages.
ILO data indicates that by 1 October all wages owing had been paid, with some crew repatriated.
The B-LNG Sophia is listed by S&P Global as being owned by Atlantis Gas DMCC, a Dubai-registered company, and managed out of Singapore by Neptune Fleet managers, a company whose listed address and phone number are that of a ship chandler.
The LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) has accused the Captain Nikolas of bringing Iranian LPG into Bangladesh by misreporting the country of origin of the cargo it was carrying.
According to the Business Standard newspaper, LOAB had notified the Chattogram Port Authority ahead of the ship’s arrival at the terminal on 6 October that the vessel was suspected of carrying LPG sourced from Iran.
