Dhaka – Bangladesh will get its ocean research and survey ship, built in Malaysia, by the end of the current month which is expected to help assess fish stock and other marine resources in the Bay of Bengal, UNB news agency reported.
A seven-member Bangladesh delegation, led by Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque, visited the Malaysian seaport where the ship was built at a cost of Tk 65.5 crore to inspect the vessel.The delegation made a brief trial tour with the survey vessel – RV Min Sandhani – in the Perak River of Malaysia and gave permission to set sail for Bangladesh through seaway by the end of April , said a PID handout on Saturday.
The survey vessel is being imported under a project, titled ‘marine fisheries capacity building project’, being implemented at a cost of over Tk 165 crore with support from the Islamic Development Bank and the Malaysian government.
The government said Bangladesh, through the survey ship, will be able to conduct sea researches and survey on marine resources for the next 20-25 years uninterruptedly.
It will play a role in managing the marine resources well and improving the lifestyle of around 5 lakh people in the costal areas who depend on fishing, the government said.
The high-tech vessel is a 37.8-meter-long multipurpose research vessel, equipped with the latest technology for fisheries and other oceanographic research.
It will primarily be used to carry out a survey to find out fish varieties, distribution of fish species and major fishing grounds in the Bay of Bengal
