The Russian ship that has been denied berth in Bangladesh finally anchored near Kolkata sea port, competent sources told the FE on Monday.
Ursa Major, which is carrying goods for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, was earlier sent back as the vessel is under US sanctions over the Ukraine war.
The vessel changed its name as Ursa Major when it sailed for Chittagong port on November 14 and reached the Bay of Bengal in the third week of 24.
Before its arrival, the United States had told Dhaka that the original name of the ship is Sparta 3, which was sanctioned by the US. This ship was renamed and registered as Ursa Major later to skip the sanction.
"The ship stays near Haldia port now," a senior official of the foreign ministry told the FE, adding that it was up to the Russians how they would send the equipment of the RNPP.
According to sources, the Russians have planned to send the equipment for the RNPP by road from Kolkata.
After the ship was denied berth in Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had told the FE that the decision was taken to "honour" the sanctions.
However, he made it clear that the ties between Bangladesh and Russia would not be affected due to this decision.
According to officials concerned, allowing embargoed ships to enter Bangladesh would have created problems.
Bangladesh requested sending the goods of the RNPP using other ships, foreign ministry sources said.
However, following tripartite discussions, Russia decided to unload the equipment at Haldia port.
Ursa Major (IMO: 9538892) is a general cargo vessel that was built in 2009 and is sailing under the flag of Russia.
Its carrying capacity is 9400t DWT and current draught is reported to be 7 metres. Its length overall (LOA) is 142.47 metres and width 23.2 metres.
