Ship stuck in Karnaphuli estuary rescued
The container ship ‘MV CNC Uranus’, which was stuck in the estuary of the Karnaphuli River after colliding with a red buoy in the port channel, has been rescued. After an overnight rescue operation on Monday (August 3), the ship anchored at Bravo Anchorage.
Chittagong Port Secretary Syed Rifaet Hamim confirmed the matter. It is learnt that Chittagong Port’s tugboats Kandari-2, Kandari-4, Kandari-6 and Kandari-11, Bangladesh Navy’s tugboat ‘Shibsha’ and Bangladesh Coast Guard’s tugboat ‘Pramata’ participated in the rescue operation.
Port sources said that the Maltese-flagged ship was coming to Chittagong Port from Shikou Port in China with 1,282 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containers. A sudden mechanical failure occurred on the way. The ship collided with buoy number 2 and got stuck on the defense wall adjacent to the Karnaphuli estuary due to the steering failure.
There were 24 sailors on board the ship. After the ship got stuck on Monday afternoon, the port authorities launched a coordinated rescue operation. After a long effort, the authorities were able to rescue the ship late at night by keeping the channel normal and operational. This brought relief to the ship’s sailors. No casualties or damage were reported in this rescue operation.
