Rooppur consignment on sanctioned Russian ship may come by road from India

The consignment meant for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant that had to be turned away from Bangladesh shores due to being carried by a US-sanctioned vessel, may ultimately be sent to their destination by road.

This is based on indications that the Russian ship, instead of going all the way back with the vital equipment it was carrying, has hovered in the Bay of Bengal since the incident in late December. Now the BBC is reporting that it may be looking to unload its consignment at the Haldia port in West Bengal, reports UNB. 

India has been openly defying US sanctions on Russian ships since the start of the war in Ukraine. All Indian ports are thus open to Russia-flagged vessels, even those with sanctions on them.

The Russian-flagged ship arrived at the Mongla port channel at the end of December with goods destined for the Rooppur plant, Mongla Port Authority Secretary Kalachand Singh said.

"We have learned that the cargo from the vessel can be unloaded at the Haldia port in India's West Bengal. From there, another vessel could carry the consignment for the Rooppur power plant and deliver it to a port of Bangladesh," he added.

Sadhan Kumar, operations officer of Khulna Conveyor Shipping Lines, said: "Earlier shipments for Rooppur NPP were delivered by Russian and neutral, foreign-flagged vessels at the Mongla port. After the unloading of the cargoes at the port, they would be taken to Rooppur."

The sanctioned Russian ship Sparta III was scheduled to dock at the port in the southwestern part of the country and unload cargo destined for the Rooppur NPP in Pabna.

But the authorities denied the ship permission to dock at the port after officials got a letter from the US Embassy in Dhaka saying that the ship was on a list of Russian ships sanctioned by the US.