Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) will hand over a cheque worth Tk203.47 crore to the government as loan repayment instalments for six ship purchase projects and as dividend for the 2024–25 fiscal year, according to the corporation.
The cheque is scheduled to be formally handed over to the Chief Adviser on Wednesday, January 14. The amount includes repayments under a subsidiary loan agreement with the government as well as the government’s share of dividends declared for the current fiscal year.
BSC Managing Director Mahmudul Malek said the Tk203 crore 47 lakh payment forms part of the corporation’s scheduled loan servicing and dividend obligations.
Shipping Adviser M Shakhawat Hossain will formally hand over the cheque to the Chief Adviser. Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping Nurunnahar Chowdhury and the BSC managing director will also be present.
BSC officials said the payment relates to a government-to-government loan agreement signed between Bangladesh and China on 14 October 2016, to procure six new ships for the state-owned carrier. Under the agreement, BSC took a loan of nearly 12 billion yuan, equivalent to about Tk1457 crore, from China Exim Bank.
To manage repayment, a subsidiary loan agreement was signed between the Finance Division and BSC on 27 October 2024. Under that arrangement, BSC is scheduled to repay Tk2425 crore to the government over 13 years.
As part of the agreement, BSC has already paid interest accrued during the grace period. A cheque of Tk475 crore 25 lakh 13 thousand 340 was handed over to the Chief Adviser on November 26, 2024. The latest Tk203.47 crore payment continues that repayment process and includes both the relevant instalment and the declared dividend.
The six vessels were added to the BSC fleet in the 2018–19 fiscal year, marking the first major fleet expansion in nearly 27 years. Three of the ships are product oil tankers with capacities of about 39,000 deadweight tonnes each, while the remaining three are bulk carriers.
Five vessels—MV Banglar Joyjatra, MV Banglar Arjan, MT Banglar Agrajatra, MT Banglar Agradoot and MT Banglar Agradhoot—are currently operating on international routes, transporting cargo under the Bangladeshi flag.
BSC said it posted a record profit of Tk306.56 crore in the last fiscal year, generating revenue of around Tk800 crore. Officials attributed the performance largely to improved operational efficiency and earnings from the newly added ships.
Under directives from the Chief Adviser, BSC has also moved to further expand its fleet. Of two bulk carriers being acquired with the corporation’s own funds, the first vessel, Banglar Pragati, was launched on 28 October 2025. The second, Banglar Navjatra, is scheduled for delivery on 30 January 2026.
In addition, BSC is in the process of procuring two MR product oil tankers with government financing and one Ultramax bulk carrier with its own funds. Plans are also in place to acquire four more large vessels from China on a government-to-government basis, as the corporation seeks to strengthen Bangladesh’s maritime capacity and international shipping presence.
