Bangladesh Shipping Corporation must remain profitable enterprise: Chief Adviser

Dhaka: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has said that Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) must remain a strong and profitable state-owned enterprise, emphasizing the need to sustain and build on its recent financial performance.

He made the remarks while receiving a check worth Tk 203.47 crore on behalf of the government at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Wednesday, January 14. The amount was handed over by the Ministry of Shipping’s adviser, M. Sakhawat Hossain, and BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek. The check includes installments payable under the Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) for six ship procurement projects as well as dividends declared for the fiscal year 2024–25.

The Chief Adviser said BSC has recently grown into a profitable entity, and this momentum must be preserved. He stressed that future planning should ensure that income generated by the corporation further strengthens the organization and enables it to expand its fleet with new vessels.

Adding more ships to the BSC fleet would boost morale among seafarers and create new employment opportunities, Professor Yunus noted. He also underlined the importance of retaining skilled instructors at marine academies by ensuring appropriate honorariums so they can continue to produce world-class mariners.

BSC Managing Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek briefed the event on the financing of the ship procurement projects. He said that under a government-to-government arrangement for the purchase of six new vessels—three product oil tankers and three bulk carriers of around 39,000 DWT each—a loan agreement between the Economic Relations Division of Bangladesh and China’s Exim Bank was signed on October 14, 2016. The principal amount of the loan is 1,199,999,070 Chinese yuan, equivalent to Tk 1,457.67 crore.

Subsequently, on October 27, 2024, a Subsidiary Loan Agreement was signed between the Finance Division and BSC to repay a total of Tk 2,425.02 crore over 13 years. As part of this arrangement, interest payable during the grace period amounting to Tk 475.25 crore was officially handed over to the Chief Adviser on November 26, 2024.

Following a gap of 27 years since its last major vessel acquisition, BSC added six commercial ships to its fleet in 2018–19 under the project. Of these, five vessels—MV Banglar Joyjatra, MV Banglar Arjan, MT Banglar Agrayatra, MT Banglar Agradoot, and MT Banglar Agragati—are currently engaged in international commercial operations, proudly flying the Bangladeshi flag.

BSC recorded the highest profit in its 54-year history in the last fiscal year, earning around Tk 800 crore in revenue and posting a net profit of Tk 306.56 crore. Officials said the five newly procured vessels played a crucial role in this sustained growth.

Acting on the Chief Adviser’s directives, BSC has already initiated steps to acquire additional vessels. These include two bulk carriers financed from its own resources, of which the first—Banglar Pragati—was delivered on October 28, 2025, and placed into commercial operation. The second, Banglar Nabojatra, is scheduled for delivery on January 30, 2026. Procurement of two MR product oil tankers with government financing and one Ultramax bulk carrier with BSC’s own funds is also underway, alongside plans to acquire four large mother vessels from China on a G-to-G basis.

K