Detained vessel allowed to sail from Bangladesh, as no coronavirus found

The Bangladeshi port authority Mongla Port did not find any symptoms of COVID-19 in the crew of the bulk carrier Serenitas N, which later off-loaded imported coal at birth and sailed on 15 March, say Bangladesh shipping industry sources.

On arrival in the first week of March the vessel carrying the flag of the Marshall Islands had suspended off-loading of imported coal at Mongla, due to suspicion of the coronavirus affecting the crew.

The vessel was detained when three sailors of vessel had been taken into the isolation ward for having body temperature more than the normal range amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The vessel came from the Lianyungang port in China to the Mongla port via Chattogram port, carrying 24,000t of coal for Bangladesh. However, after the medical/laboratory tests, no coronavirus symptoms were found among crew and vessel off-loaded cargo.