Two companies, which handle a major portion of Bangladesh's hydrogen peroxide exports, have been forced to stop production as most shipping lines are declining to carry the chemical following a deadly fire at an inland container depot (ICD) last week.

Besides, most ICDs have asked producers to take back previous hydrogen peroxide shipments until the transportation is arranged as they now feel uneasy about storing the chemical.

The development comes on the back of the deadly fire at the BM Container Depot in Sitakunda on June 4 that killed at least 47 people.

Authorities suspect that the several of hydrogen peroxide containers stored at the depot exacerbated the fire as the albeit non-flammable substance intensified the inferno by causing multiple explosions after coming in contact with extreme heat.

Al-Razi Chemical Complex, a subsidiary of Smart Group of Industries that co-owns the depot, was warned of the hazards of storing hydrogen peroxide in jerrycans after an export consignment of the chemical caught fire on a carrier vessel waiting for port clearance in Cambodia.

The ship's floor was fully burnt in the fire, and a subsequent investigation identified unapproved jerrycans in which the chemical was stored as the root cause. The jerrycans, as investigators pointed out, could not sustain the pressure of the chemical and exploded.

Considering the situation, Samuda Chemical Complex Ltd, owned by TK Group in Chattogram, has stopped producing the chemical for the last two days.

"We stopped the production on Friday night as a number of our hydrogen peroxide containers have been stranded at Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL) ever since the accident last week," said Bikash Kanti Das, head of business at Samuda Chemical.

The company had sent around 102 tonnes of hydrogen peroxide to the ICD on the same day of the blast, after which the SAPL authorities asked them to take them back to the factory until arranging the shipment.

According to Captain Kamrul Islam Mazumder, chief operating officer of SAPL, there are currently 49 containers of hydrogen peroxide at the depot that came from Samuda Chemical.

Das went on to say that they decided to stop manufacturing in the face of uncertainty over the timely shipment of previously delivered products.

Samuda Chemical has been exporting hydrogen peroxide since 2008. With a daily production capacity of 150 tonnes, the company exports an average of around 4,000 tonnes of the chemical to at least 10 countries every month.

Like Samuda, Tasnim Chemical Complex Ltd also suspended the production of hydrogen peroxide after facing shipment delays.

Md Monirul Islam, general manager of marketing at Tasnim Chemical, said there are currently 20 containers of hydrogen peroxide stranded at two ICDs.

Mentioning that the depot authorities are repeatedly asking them to take back the cargoes, Islam said it is a difficult task because customs clearance is needed to take back shipments from a depot.

Other than these two companies, a few others are also involved in exporting hydrogen peroxide. They include Al-Razi Chemical Complex, Infinia Chemical Ltd and HP Chemicals Ltd.

These companies export products to more than 15 countries such as India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the UAE and South Africa.

The chemical is widely used by textile and pharmaceutical factories.

Officials of shipping agents said most shipping lines are verbally expressing an unwillingness to carry containers of hydrogen peroxide ever since the accident.

In a notification issued on June 9, PSA Corporation Limited, which operates container terminals at the Port of Singapore, stopped accepting containers carrying hydrogen peroxide due to a pile-up of the product.

Syed Mohammad Arif, chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, said the Singapore port authority did not clearly say that it has imposed an embargo on hydrogen peroxide. It has only suspended accepting new containers until the current stores are cleared.

He opined that most shipping lines and feeder operators are expressing an unwillingness to carry the cargo out of panic following the explosion.

He hoped that the crisis would be resolved soon through discussions with relevant stakeholders.

Rear Admiral Mohammad Shahjahan, chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority, will soon sit in a meeting with shipping agents, ICD owners and different organisations to discuss the issue.