Russian Ship Carrying Shipments For Bangladesh’s Nuclear Plant Returns

Russian ship 'Ursa Major' has left the Indian waterbody without unloading the shipments for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). 

Due to US sanctions on the Russian ship for the Ukraine crisis, it could not reach the port of Bangladesh and tried to unload the goods in India but was unsuccessful. A source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed this information.

The Russian-flagged vessel named Ursa Major was supposed to arrive at Mongla port on December 24 with the goods. Before this, on December 20, the United States told Bangladesh that the ship was not actually 'Ursa Major'. It is the 'Sparta-3' ship on the US sanctions list.

By changing the color and name, it is going to Bangladesh with Rooppur products. The ship's International Maritime Organization (IMO) registration number is 9538892, which is actually the registration number of 'Sparta-3'. After checking, Bangladesh confirmed the matter and prohibited the ship from entering the port.

Later the ship went to Haldia port in West Bengal and tried to unload the goods. The concerned local agent is said to have planned to deliver the goods from there to Rooppur in Bangladesh. But that was not possible.

According to the latest update on January 15 from the Global Ship Tracking Intelligence Marine Traffic website, the real-time vessel location tracking website, the vessel was anchored in the middle of the Indian part of the Bay of Bengal. However, the latest information on Wednesday said that the ship was not allowed to board, so it is returning to Russia.

According to diplomatic sources, Russia is embarrassed about the issue. The country is understanding the problem of the Bangladesh government. In Indian ports, only the necessary amenities are provided to the officers and employees of the ships. But the equipment was not allowed to be unloaded.

A diplomat on the condition of anonymity told the media that the United States has also refused to release the ship's goods at Indian ports. They also put pressure on India. As a result, Delhi did not allow the release of goods from the vessel.

After long-term negotiations and the signing of contracts, the Russian state atomic energy company Rosatom started the actual work of constructing the country's first nuclear power plant of 2,400 MW at Rooppur in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district in 2017.

An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Bangladesh fell under both pressures. According to the US side, if a third country gives privileges to any of its embargoed ships, that country will also be at risk of sanctions.

Again, Russia has informed that if the ship is not released, it will have a negative impact on the relationship between the two countries. However, since the responsibility is to deliver the products of the local agent to the project area, the government decision was taken not to allow the ship to enter Bangladesh under the circumstances.

And despite being outside the US sanctions, India has not taken the risk of releasing the ship's cargo in the current geopolitical context.

A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the decision of the Bangladesh authorities not to allow the ship to board was informed to the local agent. Later, on December 22, Russian Ambassador to Dhaka Alexander Mantitsky held a meeting with Rear Admiral (Retd) Mo Khurshed Alam, Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ambassador was informed that the embargoed ships will not be allowed to enter the port of Bangladesh.

He said that Bangladesh gives special priority to the release of Rooppur products. Bangladesh has ensured all facilities in this regard. According to the contract, the local agent is responsible for transporting the goods to the project area in Bangladesh. How they will come up with the product is up to them.

Dhaka will not take the risk of allowing the embargoed ships to enter. And since the sanctions are on Russia, they have to resolve the issue. If the agent wants, he can change the ship in the middle of the sea and bring the goods.