The newly-constructed oil-spill cleaner Bay Cleaner-2 to be handed over to Chittagong Port Authority today. Photo: Star

The Chittagong Port Authority today receives an oily waste collection vessel from Western Marine Shipyard Ltd to prevent spillage of wasted oil into the sea from ships, tankers and other vessels.
Commissioned as Bay Cleaner-2, the vessel is first of its kind in the country and will significantly enhance CPA's capacity in safeguarding marine environment as required by the International Maritime Organisation under Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study and Marine Pollution, sources said.
Western Marine authority will hand over the vessel to CPA Chairman Commodore RU Ahmed at a ceremony at its shipyard at Kolagaon under Patia upazila in the Port City.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and Nur-E-Alam Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on shipping ministry, are scheduled to attend the handover ceremony.
At a press conference yesterday, Western marine officials said the CPA signed contract with the Lamor Corporation AB of Finland, one of the manufacturers of spill response systems and products, for building the oily waste reception vessel. The Lamor later teamed up with Western Marine to build the vessel at the latter's shipyard.
Western Marine Chairman Saiful Islam said the vessel, with a dimension of 25m length, 6.80m width and 4.10m depth, would have a capacity of storing 150cbm oily wastes, 30cbm fresh water, 40cbm fuel oil and 3cbm lube oil.
Activities of Bay Cleaner-2 will include reception of oily wastes from ships, tankers and other vessels docked at Chittagong Port, transferring wastes to treatment sites on the shore, and collection of oily wastes over a 2km area within the CPA zone, said Saiful.
Western Marine Managing Director Sakhawat Hossain said Lamor got the order for building the vessel at a cost of Tk 25 crore.
He expressed hope that there will be policy supports like declaring the south bank of the Karnaphuli and banks of the Meghna and the Pashur at Mongla Port as shipyard zones, delivery of imported shipbuilding materials on priority basis, single digit rate of bank interest and 15 percent cash incentive for the shipbuilding industry to help this booming sector flourish further.