The fire on a freighter loaded with thousands of cars appears to have burnt itself out. Although the vessel seems stable, there are still concerns over potential risks. The Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management on Tuesday said the fire on board the Freemantle Highway cargo ship appeared to no longer be burning.  Salvagers say the freighter's hull, which caught alight almost a week ago, appears to be intact below water. What we now know about the ship "There are no visible signs any longer that the fire is still burning," the spokeswoman said, adding it was too early to sound the all-clear. There are still concerns that it might break up and pollute a nearby archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea. The Panama-registered Fremantle Highway carried 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric cars, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore.  The vessel was towed 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland to keep it away from busy shipping lanes. Firefighters had decided not to douse the freighter with flames with water for fear of making it unstable. The Fremantle Highway will now be towed to a port to be unloaded and have its hazardous contents removed before being broken up. However, no port has yet been identified where that will take place. "The recovery companies are working on a plan of action for towing the freighter to its final location and salvaging it," the ministry said. It's thought that the decision on a location partly depends on the condition of the vessel. The options are thought to be Eemshaven, a Dutch port on the German border, and the German port of Wilhelmshaven.

The new cargo complex at the Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram airport, the second largest in the northeastern region after the one at Guwahati airport, was inaugurated on Friday. Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said that there were no outgoing cargo operations since December 2022 as BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) shut down the old cargo facility due to absence of security vetting, creating difficulties for post offices, courier services and other trade and export related services. The new cargo complex, which was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 17 crore, would be able to cater 40,150 metric tonnes of cargo per annum and it has facilities like cold storage for perishable items, facilities for dangerous goods and a very spacious storage area. Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, in the presence of the state government and AAI officials, inaugurated the new cargo complex which would be maintained and operated by AAI Cargo and Logistics Services, a subsidiary of AAI for smooth and hassle free cargo movement. With the starting of cargo operations it would act as a catalyst for growth and would also expedite the movement of perishable goods and products from the state, said MBB Airport Director K.C. Meena. The MBB Airport in Agartala became ready to operate international flights after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new integrated terminal building on January 4 last year. According to the AAI officials, the MBB airport, located 20 km north of Agartala city, is the second busiest airport in the northeast after Guwahati airport in terms of handling of aircraft and passengers. Built at a cost of Rs 500 crore and with a built-up area of 30,000 square metres, the new integrated terminal building at the MBB airport has been designed to handle 1,500 passengers, including 200 international passengers, during peak hours and it is equipped with all modern amenities.

The 6-ton vessel Jin Tian was manned by a crew from China and Myanmar. Only five of the 13 found have survived, Chinese media reported. A cargo ship which sank off the coast of Japan on Tuesday, amid poor weather conditions, has left eight people dead according to Chinese media. Six of the dead were Chinese nationals, a government official told state broadcaster CGTN on Thursday. The incident took place some 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of the remote and uninhabited Danjo Islands in southwestern Japan. The ship named Jin Tian, had a crew from China and Myanmar. The 6,651-ton vessel was registered in Hong Kong, Japan's coast guard said. Crew forced to abandon ship The ship's captain sent a distress signal to South Korea's coast guard on Tuesday evening, saying the crew would abandon ship. The vessel then sank at approximately 2:46am local time (5:46pm UTC on Tuesday). No immediate cause for the sinking has been determined, but a South Korean coast guard spokesperson said the area was experiencing strong winds at the time of the incident. A cold snap hit much of Asia this week, with daytime temperatures in some Japanese islands nearest the rescue site reaching just 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit). Hundreds of flights to South Korea's Jeju island were cancelled on Tuesday due to extreme weather. Five crew members survive Some 13 crew members were rescued from the scene, with Japan's coast guard and military, and also three private ships from the area, joining in the search. China's Consul General in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, Lu Guijun, told Chinese media that a search operation for the 13 missing individuals had retrieved five individuals alive, with non-life threatening conditions. "We express our deepest condolences to the unfortunate victims," Lu said of the remaining eight crew members who perished. Japanese authorities have yet to confirm the figures cited by Lu, saying they could only attest to two people found dead and nine that remain missing.

Marking the official launch of the eastern section of the North-South railway corridor, the first rail transit cargo from Russia to India entered Iran on Tuesday through the Sarakhs border crossing. Carrying 39 containers, the Russian transit train left Chekhov station on July 6, traveling 3,800 kilometers through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to enter Iran. The cargo will be transported to Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran through a 1600 km rail route to finally be sent to India's Nhava Sheva Port via sea, reported Tehran Times. The Russian train was allowed into the Iranian border in a ceremony attended by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber along with transport, oil, industry, and agriculture ministers as well as the vice president for science and technology. Speaking at this ceremony, Mokhber stressed the Iranian government's determination for expanding trade with neighbouring countries, especially in the transit sector, reported Tehran Times "The transit capacity of the country has increased to 20 million tons and by planning and taking appropriate measures, transiting 300 million tons of commodities per year can be reached," said Mokhber. The North-South Corridor consists of three route sections, namely East, West, and Middle. Iran and Russia are also cooperating in the maritime sector to use the Caspian Sea to shorten the transit route from Russia to India. International North-South Transport Corridor is a corridor to increase trade between India and Russia. This trade route is 7200 Km long and the transport of freight is through a multi-mode network of roads, ships, and railways. This route connects India and Russia through Iran and Azerbaijan. The corridor is aimed at reducing the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30 per cent and bringing down the transit time from 40 days by more than half. Earlier this week, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) announced that it has assigned 300 containers to transport goods between Russia and India, reported Tehran Times. The mentioned containers have been allocated to execute the first phase of a program for transiting Russian commodities to India via the North-South Corridor using the Caspian Sea. "According to the plans made by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, in the first phase, 300 containers have been considered for transporting cargos to Russia, and if the demand increases, the number of these containers will increase continuously," an IRISL statement said. Russia, India, and Iran are the founding member states of INSTC. The agreement was signed in 2002. There are 13 member states of the INSTC project - India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Oman, Turkey, Syria and Ukraine. Bulgaria is the Observer State. The Baltic countries like Latvia and Estonia have also expressed willingness to join the INSTC. India shows interest in extending INSTC membership to countries like Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Establishing a land route via Kabul and Tashkent to form the INSTC's "Eastern corridor" would maximise the potential of this collaboration. Also, India wants to include Chabahar port to be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The potential export sectors in India that benefit from INSTC include perishable goods (fruits and vegetables), high-value items like ATMs, industrial printers, 3D printers, robotic assembly accessories, etc., cross-border e-commerce, and sectors that are likewise. Source: ANI

To keep the supply and prices of onion normal the government has decided to import it on emergency basis through cargo plane from Sunday. Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will import onion from Turkey as the government agency while S Alam Group will import from Egypt under private initiatives. Commerce Secretary Dr. Zafar Uddin informed about the decision on Friday and said, import of onion will continue through cargo plane until the market turns normal. A Deputy Secretary has been sent to Turkey for importing onion under government initiatives. Besides, another Deputy Secretary is now in Egypt. A commerce ministry press note said, to keep the supply and prices normal onion is being imported directly from Turkey through TCB under initiatives by the commerce ministry, under private initiatives by S Alam Group from Egypt and other firms from Afghanistan and UAE will import through cargo plane. Already the formalities have been done. Adequate onion can be supplied in the market within a very short period. Besides, imported onion is on the way to Bangladesh through ships and the biggest consignment will reach in the country soon. The notice also said, problem occurred for onion transport in different places including Teknaf land port and Chattogram seaport due to cyclone Bulbul. It is hoped that adequate onion will come in the local market within short span of time and the prices will turn into normal. AH    

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday asked the concerned authorities to take necessary measures immediately to keep cargo service open for 24-hour at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The directive came from a view-exchange meeting at the PMO with Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman in the chair, said a press release. Reports BSS. Chief Coordinator of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Affairs Abul Kalam Azad, presidents of FBCCI and BGMEA and representatives of other stakeholders attended the meeting. The meeting also decided to keep open LC Opening branches of banks for unloading of imported goods. As per the decision, measures will be taken to deliver goods of airway bill, those will be cleared on Thursday afternoon from banks, on Saturday and customs will remain present. The other decision included completing pre-arrival processing of cargos, opening a hotline of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and introducing one-stop service. AH

From February to May. After audit objection in this four months of the current year taka 20 crore 24 lakh 63 thousand 342 was deposited in Biman Bangladesh Airlines account as cargo handling charge for nonscheduled freighter. In the last two years taka 76 crore was looted as inbound-outbound cargo handling charge from the nonscheduled freighter in cargo department. This was revealed in the internal audit report of Biman. In the investigation it was seen, Biman has earned 2 lakh 33 thousand 529 taka as cargo handling charge for carrying 16 thousand 684 kgs goods as nonscheduled freighter in a flight of Silk Way West Airlines on November 24, 2017. It also earned taka two lakh 53 thousand 995 as charge for carrying 18 thousand 107 kgs goods in a flight of the same airlines on December 4, 2017. Showing excuse that there is no notice the money was not deposited in the Biman exchequer from 2008. According to the report the money was earnable. According to the Audit department, every year from 2008, taka 76 crore was looted in an average. So in this rate, from 2008 at least taka 720 crore was embezzled, which was not deposited in Biman account. It is known that although the earning was regular from the year 2008 but at the middle part of 2011 the current Director of Customer Care department Ali Ahsan Babu was given charge as General Manager of Cargo. After that showing excuse of non availability of the notice the money earning from the nonscheduled freighters was stopped. So Biman faced huge financial loss. Though it was a much talked matter but Biman authority yet to form any investigation committee in this regard. The question rises, why he did not take initiative to publish notice as a responsible officer? Why he is showing excuse of notice by not considering benefit of Biman? In this regard Ali Ahsan Babu declined to comment. Rtv team was barred from entering his office. But later the team was allowed to enter at his office but he was not available. After getting news that he is in the head office, Rtv team went there and reached him. But while talking over the scandal he switched off the camera. Later his statement recorded secretly. He claimed that the Biman audit report is false. While avoiding the matter he questioned, what the audit report says- are those all correct? That report is false. No loss to the state has happened. He said to Rtv team, there will be no problem whatever you write. The Public Relation department of did not help the Rtv team to arrange any type of conversation with Chairman or Managing Director of Biman. Even the MD did not receive the phone. AH

 After withdrawal of a two-year ban, direct cargo flight to UK starts tomorrow (Wednesday) as Biman Bangladesh Airlines receives eligibility certificate. It has received the certificate as a prerequisite to begin the direct flights to UK. Starting tomorrow it is hoped that Biman Bangladesh will start sending direct air cargo to the UK. The withdrawal of the UK air cargo ban came following a significant progress in meeting a number of important security conditions at the country’s premier airport. The British envoy said lifting of the ban came as a result of the ongoing UK-Bangladesh cooperation and joint assessment of Shahjalal International Airport. Following the recommendation from the UK authorities, Bangladesh government appointed British company Redline Aviation Security Ltd to upgrade security systems and provide training to the airport officials at Shahjajalal Airport and installed Explosive Detective System (EDS) and Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) machines at the airport’s cargo village. An independent auditor was in Bangladesh to review Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ eligibility for the certificate and came up with the approval recently. Last month, UK withdrew a two-year-long ban on direct air cargo from Dhaka. During the ban, the cargo used a third-party screening agent in another country before entering UK air space. Due to the ban the national airline incurred a loss of more than Tk 100 crore last year. The restriction on cargo flights from Bangladesh was effective for almost two years due to lack of security, lengthiness and quality service. FU

The UK government has withdrawn the ban on Dhaka-London direct air cargo. The route was made open after two years. British High Commissioner in Dhaka Alison Blake declared this at a press conference at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday.   Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal and Civil Aviation Authority member Mostafizur Rahman were present on the occasion. In March, 2016 United Kingdom imposed ban on direct air cargo citing some security reasons. At that time inadequate security management at cargo village of Shahjalal airport and free access of outsiders were shown reasons for the ban. The ban affected the profit of Biman. Because one of the main income sources of Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ is air cargo. According to Bangladesh Biman source, Biman earned profit in 2016-17 fiscal year but in the last fiscal year its net profit decreased. Biman’s financial statement of the fiscal year 2016-17 was approved in its tenth annual general meeting on December 19. There it was mentioned that the UK air cargo ban made an effect on Biman’s profit. In the fiscal year 2016-17 Biman’s air cargo shipment was 33 thousand 542 tons which was 40 thousand 931 tons in the fiscal year 2015-16. Though UK has lifted ban but Bangladesh has to follow some conditions for continuing direct air cargo. Of the conditions there are, Bangladesh should appoint two long term consultants over security of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, to follow the EU model for aviation security and United Kingdom and Bangladesh will evaluate the airport security jointly. AH