Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited is studying a four-satellite maritime surveillance system costing about Tk600 crore to track fishing boats and other vessels across the Bay of Bengal, with a feasibility study under way before any procurement decision.
The proposed network would use satellite-based Automatic Identification System, or AIS, technology, supported by two ground stations and local data-processing infrastructure.
BSCL Managing Director and CEO Muhammad Imadur Rahman told TIMES the feasibility study is targeted for completion by October. If approved, the company would then finalise technical specifications and invite an international tender to select a supplier.
“If a decision can be taken within this year, we could complete it by 2028,” Rahman said.
He said a 2023 law requires oceangoing fishing vessels to carry tracking devices, but enforcement depends on having a satellite network capable of receiving their signals.
“The devices cost from about $400, and all vessels will have to install them once the satellites go live,” he said.
The project is separate from the Earth-observation satellite Bangladesh has been considering as its second satellite, which, according to Rahman, is still under consideration.
The maritime system would instead receive vessel identity, position, speed and direction data.
Unlike coastal AIS infrastructure, satellite-based AIS can receive signals much farther out at sea. BSCL is targeting a maximum revisit time of about 30 minutes across Bangladesh’s maritime zone.
Bangladesh gained rights over 118,813 square kilometres of maritime area after settling boundary disputes with Myanmar in 2012 and India in 2014, creating a large area to monitor for fishing, shipping and resource use.
The system could also improve safety for fishermen.
Satellite tracking could also help enforce fishing-zone restrictions and identify vessel movements more quickly.
BSCL estimates better route planning could save up to 150 litres of diesel per trip, potentially reducing annual fuel use by 45 million litres, worth about Tk459 crore.
Around 30,000 small or artisanal fishing boats are registered, while at least another 70,000 are estimated to operate without registration.
Coverage, however, will depend on vessels carrying compatible devices and transmitting signals.
Boats without the equipment, or those that switch it off, may remain outside the system.
Rahman said the legal requirement for tracking devices is intended to close that gap once the satellite network becomes operational.
