‘Banglar Joyjatra’ fails to cross Strait of Hormuz again

Following the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz had been opened, the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel MV Banglar Joyjatra lifted anchor on Friday night.

However, within a few hours of starting its journey, Iran’s forces instructed the ship via radio message to return to the Persian Gulf. After receiving the instruction, the vessel is once again headed back to a safe location in the Persian Gulf.

The ship’s captain, Shafiqul Islam Khan, told Prothom Alo via WhatsApp at 12:45 am early on Saturday, "After hearing the announcement that restrictions had been lifted, we set off on Friday night to cross Hormuz."

"However, Iran’s forces did not permit the vessel to pass through Hormuz. After receiving instructions to turn back, we are returning to our previous location in the Persian Gulf," he added.

Earlier in the night, managing director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Commodore Mahmudul Malek, told Prothom Alo that Banglar Joyjatra had entered the Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf at 11:50 pm Bangladesh time on Friday. It was expected to cross the strait by around 3:00 am.

According to the website of vessel tracking agency MarineTraffic, at 11:00 pm on Friday, after Iranian authorities declared the strait open, ships stranded in the Persian Gulf began lifting anchor one after another. More than a hundred vessels were moving at full speed towards the Strait of Hormuz.

However, at 12:45 am, the MarineTraffic website showed that all the vessels were again returning to the Persian Gulf. 'Banglar Joyjatra was also on that list.

This BSC vessel has been in the Persian Gulf since 2 February, transporting goods from one port to another. On 11 March, BSC decided to bring the vessel back. However, it was unable to cross Hormuz at that time due to lack of permission.

After failing to obtain permission, the ship was loaded with around 37,000 tonnes of fertiliser at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al Khair port. The fertiliser is to be delivered to the port of Cape Town in South Africa.

However, even after the ceasefire began, the vessel failed to obtain permission during the second attempt. Since then, it had been anchored in the Persian Gulf near Hormuz. In the third attempt to cross Hormuz on Friday, the vessel ultimately turned back once again.