Bangladesh Navy welcomes Rohingya aid ship from Malaysia
Bangladesh Navy officers today welcomed Malaysia's Rohingya aid ship Nautical Aliya close to Cox's Bazar.
Led by Bangladesh Navy Captain Mohammad Nizamul Haque, the officers met with aid mission organisers in the meeting room of the captain's bridge.
"Formally, I would like to welcome you all... This kind of charity will definitely strengthen relations between Malaysia and Bangladesh," he said.
He added that the Bangladesh Navy was ready to extend its full support to the organisers.
"Don't hesitate to express your desire and your demands," he said.
The ship is now anchored about two nautical miles off Cox's Bazar, which it reached around 10:00am local time.
The ship reached Bangladeshi waters at 1:30am today.
The Nautical Aliya was previously sailing towards Chittagong of Bangladesh with about 2,100 tonnes of aid meant for Rohingya refugees in the country.
Aid mission organiser co-chief Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, after speaking with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday night, personally told him that Chittagong's port was too crowded.
Azeez added that permission for the mission's volunteers to leave the ship and to distribute the aid in camps nearby was being worked on.
It is also expected that the aid cargo will be transported from the ship onto barges, which Azeez said will be able to take 1,000 tonnes at a time each.
At the moment, the ship is being escorted by Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard vessels.
Cox's Bazar is close to Rohingya refugee camps in the area such as the Kutupalong camp, where more than 10,000 Rohingya families are said to reside.
Copyright: The Star Online/ Asia News Network
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