Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas, anchored near Cox鈥檚 Bazar鈥檚 Kutubdia in the Bay of Bengal, caught fire early Sunday.
No casualty was reported in the fire. The affected vessels are Bashundhara Group-owned 鈥楤-LPG Sophia鈥� and Tanzanian-flagged LPG tanker 鈥楥aptain Nikolas鈥�.
The fire occurred at about 1:00 am on Sunday and a rescue operation by the Coast Guard, the Chittagong Port Authority and the Bangladesh Navy had saved 31 people, Kutubdia upazila nirbahi officer Mohammad Shahadat Hossain said.
Officials said that 18 sailors, two mooring men, three watchmen from B-LPG Sophia, and eight watchmen from Captain Nikolas jumped overboard and were subsequently rescued.
The 18 sailors of B-LPG Sophia include nine Bangladeshis, eight Indonesians, and one Indian.
鈥楤-LPG Sophia鈥� sustained significant damage in the fire but 鈥楥aptain Nikolas鈥� managed to bring the fire under control with its own resources and avoided major damage.
Five companies have recently imported a total of 42,925 tonnes of LPG from Tanzania. LPG tanker 鈥楥aptain Nikolas鈥� brought it to Bangladesh and anchored in the deep sea.
Of them, 3,250 tonnes of LPG were transferred from 鈥楥aptain Nikolas鈥� to the importers鈥� depots, located at the shore of the bay, on Friday, and the fire broke out during the second phase of the transfer operation, officials said.
鈥楴o casualty was reported thus far,鈥� Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Khandaker Munif Takir said.
鈥楾he ship, Captain Nikolas, anchored in the deep sea, suddenly caught fire. B-LPG Sophia also caught fire at the same time, while transferring LPG from Captain Nikolas. Higher authorities were immediately informed, and a Coast Guard vessel, a tugboat, and four speedboats were dispatched for rescue and firefighting operations. The Navy and the Chittagong Port鈥檚 firefighting teams also joined the operations,鈥� he said.
He said that the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage would be known after investigation.
Meanwhile, the government on Sunday formed an eight-member committee to investigate the fire incident on the LPG vessels.
The committee, led by commodore M Fazlar Rahman, member (Harbor and Marine) of the CPA, was asked to submit its report within five working days, according to an official order issued later on the day by Chittagong Port Authority chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman.
The committee鈥檚 terms of reference included identifying the cause of the fire aboard MT Captain Nikolas and B-LPG Sophia, evaluating international standards for LPG transport and seamen, assessing the suitability of the transported LPG, determining damage and liability, and recommending measures to prevent future incidents.
Earlier on September 30, the MT Banglar Jyoti, an oil tanker owned by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, caught fire after an explosion. Three people were killed in the fire.
On October 4, another BSC vessel, MT Banglar Shourabh, also caught fire, leaving one person dead.
The BSC expressed concern over potential sabotage in the two incidents and launched separate investigations to determine the cause of the fire incidents.