Several hundred passengers to Lalmohon, most of whom were poor city dwellers going home, rushed to MV Nasrin-1, the only other option for them on the day departing at 6:30pm. Soon, the launch, having a capacity to carry 300 passengers, was filled up to the brim.

Nasrin-1 left Sadarghat launch terminal with more than twice its capacity of passengers and merchandise, unchallenged by any of the dozen port officers, traffic inspectors and terminal inspectors. The reason these officials were not on duty at the Sadarghat launch terminal was "simple". "We were conducting an official clamp-down on illegal barges on the Buriganga river" was the reply of an official.

Launch owners, BIWTA and shipping department sources said a part of the blame for the ill-fated launch's overloading and consequent capsize, in which about six hundred people still remain missing, "definitely goes to the operators of MV Coco".

Several owners of passenger vessels and officials said if a vessel develops a technical fault prior to its departure and is deemed unfit for departure, it must either find an alternative vessel from the company's fleet and replace it, or inform the authorities (the port officer) about their inability to offer the service.

When most of the port officials, including the inspectors of the BIWTA and the shipping department, were busy elsewhere, the operators of MV Coco made no effort to follow the rules. Instead, as The Daily Star investigation reveals, the operators asked the passengers to board Nasrin-1. All Lalmohon-bound passengers arriving at the Sadarghat in the afternoon were told by shouting kulis (porters) about Coco going out of order and Nasrin-1 being their only option for the day.

"The operators and managers of MV Coco control the powerful 100-member 'development committee' of the Sadarghat launch terminal and they do not care about anything. They enjoy absolute liberty as the law-implementing officials are always busy pleasing them," said an owner of a large passenger launch company requesting anonymity.

Manager of the Messrs. Rahman Shippers Bangladesh Ltd., the company that owns Coco, Quamrul Islam told The Daily Star that they did not deem it necessary to inform the officials because the vessel was out of order only for a day.

"We would have informed them if the vessel was out of order for over a week," Islam said.

Officials concerned of the BIWTA and the department of shipping were once again trading accusations. They blamed each other for failing to ensure safety of the passengers saying, " It was not our responsibility."

A BIWTA official in Sadarghat said it was the responsibility of the department of shipping to ensure safety of the passengers as the BIWTA had no official powers to deal with an offender on the spot.

"We can only file a case against an offender to the Naval Court run by the department of shipping. Under the Inland Shipping Ordinance, we cannot catch an offender on the spot," said the official requesting anonymity.

Asked what they did when they found an overloaded vessel leaving or arriving at the port, the official said they checked the "load level markings" engraved on the front side of the vessel. "If it is within the safety level, we let it go. If not, we take measures with the help of police to take off the extra load and make it safe. About Nasrin-1, the official, as expected, failed to clarify as to how it had left the port so overloaded.

The officials of the department of shipping said there is only one terminal inspector responsible for ensuring safety in Dhaka, Munshiganj and Manikganj. The terminal inspector is not assigned to a specific launch terminal. He has to move from port to port and conduct random checking. "On Tuesday he was busy until midnight checking illegal vessels which ply the river Buriganga," they said.

" The BIWTA is supposed to do this job. Otherwise why should they have so many police and ansars be put under them?" asked an official again requesting anonymity.