Dhaka: After long 23 years, state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) will procure six (6) new vessels to continue its commercial operation, reports UNB.

The six vessels -- three oil tankers and three bulk goods carriers -- will be procured from the Chinese state-owned China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) through a Chinese government preferential/concessional loan.

China Exim Bank will provide the loan on behalf of the Chinese government for the project. The six vessels will cost a total of US$184.5 million, equivalent to Tk 1448.33 crore.

The Cabinet Purchase Committee, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair, approved a Shipping Ministry proposal in this regard on Wednesday.

At present, the BSC has only eight (8) vessels although it had got 26 vessels in the 80s. A BSC document, obtained by UNB, shows the state-flag carrier in the seas had last procured vessels in 1991.

But after that, BSC could not procure any vessel in the last 23 years due to financial hardship.

Moreover, the existing eight (8) vessels are very old having average age of 30 years. As a result, it became impossible to continue its operation in the international routes with such old vessels amid tough international law on sea.

The BSC said its operation is being squeezed day by day due to shortage of vessels. Against such a backdrop, the BSC moved for procuring new vessels. In 2011, the Chinese government came up with an offer to finance the BSC with preferential/concessional loan.

After a long negotiation, the BSC accepted the Chinese company CMC's offer to buy the six (6) vessels each having 39,000 DWT (dead weight ton) capacity.

The CMC will supply the vessels by December 2016.