Fire on oil tanker at Chattogram port brought under control

A fire that broke out on an oil tanker anchored at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port Authority was brought under control after nearly four hours of joint firefighting and rescue operations on Thursday (May 28).

The blaze erupted around 7:25am in the engine room of the tanker 'MT Meghna Traders', which had arrived in Chattogram from Indonesia carrying RBD soybean oil on May 26. The vessel was stationed at the port’s outer anchorage, known as Charlie Point.

Confirming the development, Chief Personnel Officer of the port authority Md. Nasir Uddin said the fire was finally contained at around 11:30am following an extensive emergency response involving the Coast Guard, Navy and port firefighting units.

Soon after the fire broke out, all 22 crew members onboard were evacuated safely, with no casualties reported.

Following the incident, multiple units of the Bangladesh Coast Guard launched firefighting and rescue operations alongside the port authority’s fire service team. A rescue unit from the Bangladesh Navy later joined the operation to support containment efforts.

According to the Coast Guard, its firefighting vessels 'Shyamol Bangla' and 'BCGT Promotto' took part in the operation. Personnel from 'BCG Base Chattogram', 'BCG Outpost Patenga' and several high-speed rescue boats were also deployed at the scene. Additional naval firefighting vessels later joined the mission as authorities worked to prevent the flames from spreading further.

Authorities said the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage will be determined after an investigation.