Russian shipment for Bangladesh nuclear plant docks at Haldia port of India

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: India has allowed shipment from Russia for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bangladesh to dock at West Bengal’s Haldia port amid concern in regards to receiving a sanctioned Russian ship following American restrictions, The Economic Times reported.

The Russian ship, which had to be turned away from Bangladesh, hovered in the Bay of Bengal since late December.

The consignment may be sent to its destination by road from India, concerned officials confirmed according to the ET report. India is assisting Bangladesh in constructing the NPP under the India-Russia partnership for projects in third countries.

Alok Chakraborty, chief administrative officer at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project, however, said that they have got no official confirmation in this regard.

He said, “We have not yet received any official letter confirming that the sanctioned Russian ship will unload its consignment at the Haldia port in West Bengal and then send it to its destination by road.”

“Since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia war, around 20 ships carrying machinery and spare parts for Rooppur nuclear power plant have arrived in Bangladesh,” he noted adding that three more ships are expected this month.

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 and they have been accepting consignments from Russia over the past year, with bilateral trade surging 300%.

The Russian-flagged ship arrived at Bangladesh’s Mongla port at the end of December 2022 with goods destined for the Rooppur NPP, Mongla Port Authority Secretary Kalachand Singh told local media.

“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,” he said.

Sadhan Kumar, operations officer of Khulna Conveyor Shipping Lines, told Bangladeshi media, “In the past shipments for Rooppur NPP were delivered by Russian and neutral, foreign-flagged, vessels at the Mongla port. After unloading 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 sanctio ned by the US.

The Engineering Division of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the Rooppur project as the general designer and contractor. The project will host two nuclear power units each with 1,200 Mw capacities. The latest generation 3+ Russian VVER 1200 reactor will be used for power generation, which complies with all international safety requirements.

When completed, Rooppur NPP will contribute a total of 2400 MW to Bangladesh’s energy grid. The first unit of the power plant is expected to be connected to the grid by 2023 and the second unit by 2024.