Vessel sinks in Bay of Bengal

A lighter vessel capsized with 950 tonnes of cement clinker in the Bay of Bengal near Patenga beach in Chittagong yesterday following a collision with a sunken ship.
All 13 crew of the vessel Brishti were rescued by a speedboat and members of another ship anchored nearby soon after the accident.
According to officials of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and Marine Service and Traders Limited, the local agent of the vessel, Brishti sank in the bay near Jaliapara coast of Patenga at 9:00am while it was going to a private jetty on the river Karnaphuli.
Brishti was returning to the jetty of Diamond Cement Limited after uploading clinker from a mother vessel, Xing Peng Da, at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port, said Amal Chandra Das, director of the ship's local agent.
The vessel sank as cracks developed on its bottom, after it hit parts of the sunken ship MV Rita, at the area, said Amal, adding that some parts of MV Rita, which sank several years ago, were yet to be removed.
Diamond Cement Limited imported the raw material for making cement, said Kamal Uddin, general manager of the factory.
When contacted, CPA Deputy Conservator Captain Nazmul Alam said foreign vessels bound for Chittagong Port do not cross the spot where MV Rita has remained sunken for years.
He, however, admitted that the sunken ship posed risks of such accidents for local small vessels that use the route.
Prior to yesterday's accident, three lighter vessels capsized in three separate accidents in the outer anchorage and navigation channel of Chittagong Port in the last one and a half years, said sources.