Fire ignited on ship in a highly suspicious way

Banglar Shourabh Chief Engineer Rashedul Hasan was going through the checklist of engine equipment in his cabin when he heard a loud sound on the deck.

From the C-deck, which houses the cabins of the top four officials including the captain and chief engineer, the overview of the whole ship can be seen.

"It was around 12:15am. I could see fire igniting at four nearby points on the deck near the mid-ship point. The fire ignited in a Z-shape and spread fast," Rashed told The Daily Star while talking about the BSC oil tanker which caught fire early today.

He said it was very unusual that ignitions occurred sequentially from the portside on the left to the starboard side on the right, and then back to portside and starboard.

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Rashedul said one of the crewmen noticed a speedboat passed their ship a few minutes before the fire ignited.

The incident occurred after the ship completed lightering 11,055 tonnes of crude oil from a bigger oil tanker at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port and was supposed to sail for the port jetty this morning.

Rashidul said he Immediately went to the bridge room, informed Bangladesh Shipping Corporation officials and called the Coast Guard, navy and port authority for help.

He then rushed to the engine room on the ground floor, disconnected the power supply to the deck and other parts of the ship except the accommodation rooms, and minimised operation of different equipment.

As the fire spread, the captain decided to abandon the ship.

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At first, the crew boarded a fishing trawler and later shifted to a Coast Guard tugboat which came for their rescue.

Some crewmen, however, jumped into the sea to save their lives and were later rescued.

Hasan, a 47th batch student of Bangladesh Marine Academy, joined the mariner's job in 2012. He joined Banglar Shourobh four months ago after working in Banglar Jyoti which was also damaged in a deadly explosion on Monday.

"I never saw such a dangerous incident in my career," said the young chief engineer who was injured in the left arm.

He expressed relief since the fire did not reach any of the eight oil tanks of the ship.

"If that had happened and the tanks exploded, none of us on board would have survived," he said.

"It would have been a catastrophe as nearby ships at the outer anchorage would have caught fire as well," he said.