1,200 tons of ball clay lost as lighterage vessel sinks in Ctg

A lighterage vessel named MV Zayan, carrying 1,200 tons of raw materials, sank in Chattogram on Saturday (October 18). The incident took place at the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and the Karnaphuli River, near the Naval Academy.

Port Secretary Omar Faruk said the vessel had departed from the port’s outer anchorage with 1,200 tons of ball clay—a raw material used in the ceramics industry—bound for Dhaka. He confirmed that the cargo was completely lost, though the incident did not disrupt the movement of other vessels through the port channel.

According to a crew member, a mechanical fault developed on the ship on Friday night (October 17). On Saturday morning, while efforts were underway to bring the vessel ashore, it ran aground near the Naval Academy. The hull was breached, causing water to enter three hatches.

Kazi Mohammad Shiblu, Operations Officer of Zayan Shipping Lines, the vessel’s owner, said the ship had suffered a steering failure and engine trouble around 8:00 pm on Friday. It eventually sank while being towed toward the shore the following morning. All 13 crew members on board were reported safe.