Bangladesh decides to deny berth to a Russian ship carrying goods for its maiden nuclear power plant as the vessel is under US sanctions over the Ukraine war.
High-ups of the government told the FE Thursday about decision made to "honour" the sanctions, while the government meantime deferred again the commissioning of the first unit of Rooppur nuclear power plant (RNPP).
"We have to honour the sanctions," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told the FE about the stand.
In recent days, the two superpower rivals, US and Russia, came into reference as regards Bangladesh's domestic affairs and Dhaka had to clear its equidistance position in bilateral relations of friendship.
Responding to a question he made it clear that ties between the two countries would not be affected due to this decision.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury also said the ship was not allowed in as it was under American sanctions.
According to relevant sources, the Russian flagship called Ursa Major left St Petersburg port of Russia on November 14 with goods for the under-construction Rooppur nuclear power plant. The vessel was supposed to reach Bangladesh on December 24.
But before its arrival, the United States had told Dhaka that the Ursa Major is a ship owned by Russia and named Sparta Three, which was sanctioned by the United States. This ship has been renamed and registered as Ursa Major.
So, allowing embargoed ships to enter Bangladesh may cause problems.
On the other hand, there was pressure from Russia to let the ship in. The contentious issue reached the highest level in Bangladesh.
During a Ministry of Science and Technology meeting on December 22, it was mentioned that under Bangladeshi policy, prohibited ships would not be allowed to berth in Bangladesh.
The decision not to allow the ship in was also communicated to the Russian ambassador in Dhaka the same day when he went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The foreign ministry told the Russian envoy that they were "embarrassed" to learn that Russia sent equipment for the power plant by a prohibited ship.
Bangladesh has requested sending the goods of the Rooppur power plant on other ships, foreign ministry sources said.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project is being implemented by the state-run Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission under the science and technology ministry with financial, technical and technological support given by Russia through its state-run nuclear-agency Rosatom.
Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman recently said the ship was sent with the consignment by mistake and they would replace it with another ship to carry the consignment to Bangladesh port.
In the wake of the development stemming from the diplomatic row between America and Russia over the Ukraine war, the government deferred the commissioning of the country's lone 2,400-megawatt nuclear power plant by around one year from 2023 until 2024.
State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Thursday apprised the press of the deferment decision, citing two reasons.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic and delay in laying necessary power- transmission line to evacuate electricity from the under-construction power plant were the key reasons for the delay.
Mr Hamid, however, said around 87 per cent of works on the first 1,200MW unit of the Rooppur nuclear power plant (RNPP) had already been completed.
As per the revised schedule, the first 1,200MW-capacity unit is now set back to be commissioned in mid-2024.
Previously, it was scheduled for commissioning in 2023 after initial one-year deferment from 2022.
Commissioning the second 1,200MW unit is likely in 2025.
Vice president of the Russian contractor-firm Atomstroyexport Alexey Deriy in his keynote paper presentation on the progress of Rooppur power plant said German company Siemens AG refused to supply machinery for the power sub-station of Rooppur.
The firm has recommended measures to tackle the delay in production in the first unit.
Atomstroyexport, the international project subsidiary of the Russian state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom, is the lead contractor for the Rooppur plant, which is being built under a supplier's-credit deal with Russia and will use generation 3+ VVER-1200s.
First concrete was poured for the Rooppur-1 on November 30, 2017, while first concrete pour for Rooppur-2 took place on July 14, 2018.
