Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan inaugurates Bangladesh Mariners Society (BMS)

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan inaugurates Bangladesh Mariners Society (BMS)

 (Computer generated rendering of the future Bangladesh Mariners Society)

October 15, 2018

With pomp and ceremony, the inauguration of a much coveted Bangladesh Mariners Society house took place in Baridhara, Dhaka. None other than the Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan adorned the occasion. Also present were The Shipping Secretary Abdus Samad, Foreign Secretary Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshid Alam, DG Shipping Commodore Syed Ariful Islam. Mr. M. A. Rashid, the President of Bangladesh Mariners Society presided over the occasion. Scores of press reporters were invited to record this momentous occasion.

The founding mariners associated with this organization are the graduates of the Bangladesh Fisheries Academy. It is to be noted that, the current DG Shipping is also a graduate of the Fisheries Academy. Instead of joining the fishing industry, they now compete with Bangladesh Marine Academy for the same jobs. In order to save resources, Bangladesh Fisheries Academy should be merged with Bangladesh Marine Academy rather than competing one organization against the other.

The consensus in the larger mariner’s society is that the Founder President’ of this organization is a man with very deep pockets, heavily connected to the right people and he knows how to make it happen!

Mr. Rashid is also the owner of Karnaphully Dry Dock Ltd.

Karnaphuly Dry Dock Ltd. received a land allocation from GOB to build their dockyard beside Bangladesh Marine Academy premises. In addition to utilizing government appropriated land, they extended their facilities well inside the Bangladesh Marine Academy compound by the way of the BMA jetty and the waterfront. Karnaphuly Dry Dock Ltd. [KDDL] commenced development of the land during 2012/2013 in several phases, without obtaining the NOC from the Bangladesh Marine Academy. A NOC was mandatory as per permission they received from the government. Not only did they encroach over 500 yards inside the Marine Academy compound, they commenced an In-Situ foundation piling. This has created unsafe plying (navigation) of the Marine Academy boats that hampered the training of the Academy cadets.

For a detailed report please visit: https://themaritimeblog.org/2018/05/karnaphully-dry-dock-ltd-encroached-bma-jetty-and-its-waterfront/

Also note the video links for more information about Mr. Rashid.