A vessel transporting 100,000 tonnes of crude oil has anchored off Kutubdia

A vessel named MT Ninemia, carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil, anchored at Kutubdia on Wednesday afternoon after more than two and a half months, marking a key development for Bangladesh’s fuel supply chain.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek confirmed the development, saying unloading is expected to begin within one to two hours after completing necessary formalities.

He noted that the arrival of the shipment will enable the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) to resume full operations.

ERL, the country’s only state-owned refinery under the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), relies entirely on imported crude oil. Owing to supply disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the refinery had not received any crude since February 18, forcing it to suspend operations. Officials said crude oil is imported under government-to-government (G2G) agreements from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with shipments transported by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation. However, prolonged instability in the region has disrupted shipping routes and heightened security risks for chartered vessels.

Reports indicate that another consignment of 100,000 tonnes of Saudi crude, carried by the tanker Nordic Polax, has been stranded near the Strait of Hormuz since April 5. In a separate incident, a shipment from the UAE’s Jebel Dhanna port was cancelled after the vessel owner declined to sail due to security concerns.

As a result of the supply shortfall, ERL’s main Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) has remained shut since April 12. With the arrival of the new shipment, refinery operations are expected to resume shortly after unloading begins.

According to BPC data, Bangladesh’s annual fuel demand exceeds 7 million tonnes, around 92 percent of which is met through imports. Of this, approximately 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil is refined annually at ERL. The refinery primarily processes Saudi Arabia’s Arabian Light and the UAE’s Murban crude.