A delegation from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, headed by BIWTA-Chairman Abdul Meleque Miah, visited Europe in May. The main purpose of the trip was the pre-shipment inspection of the components for three cutter suction dredgers to be built at Chittagong-based Karnafuly Shipyard, whose Managing Director M.A. Rashid was among the delegates.

The actual pre-shipment inspection of the dredge monitoring and production management systems, operating desks, ladder hoisting winches and other vital components of the new dredgers took place in a warehouse in Beverwijk, some twenty kilometres from Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands. The non-ceremonial but lively event was hosted by German-Dutch VOSTA LMG, Karnafuly Shipyard’s partner in the construction of the three dredging vessels that are meant to boost the capacity of BIWTA ageing fleet of seven dredgers. ‘Our dredging fleet dates back to the days of the great Leader Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman as prime minister of our country, who was in charge of the Ministry of Shipping also,’ BIWTA-chairman Abdul Maleque Mia said in Beverwijk. ‘Out of the 24.000 km of river in Bangladesh 8000 km are navigable in the monsoon season, and only about 5000 km in the dry season. Our charter as BIWTA is to maintain and if possible improve that navigability. For us, dredging is an ongoing, never ending process.’