US embargo forces Russian ship back from Bangladesh coasts

Dhaka: A Russian ship named ‘Ursa Major’ which was bringing materials for Rooppur nuclear power plant project, was turned back by Bangladesh due to US embargo on that ship.
Moscow has reportedly expressed its dissatisfaction over this terming it “absolutely not acceptable.”
Sources say that if the embargoed ship was allowed to enter into the country, the embargo also might be imposed on that country. From that point of view, the position of the Bangladesh government is reasonable.
According to sources, Ursa Major was supposed to arrive in Bangladesh on December 24, 2022 with Rooppur project products. But two days before that, the United States informed Bangladesh about the US ban on that ship.
Dhaka is “embarrassed” in this regard – Russia was informed about the decision not to allow the ship.
Then a diplomatic letter from the Russian Embassy in Dhaka stated that Bangladesh’s position was “not acceptable”.
In response, Dhaka also informed Moscow that it would not change its position.
On December 22, Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Khorshed Alam held discussion with Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Alexander Mantitsky and the envoy was informed about Dhaka’s decision.
A source here said, “We are embarrassed. There was a restriction. We did not expect Russia to send goods on such a ship.
“It is known that Russia sought Bangladesh’s permission to send the goods to Mongla port in October last year. Then they informed that the name of the cargo ship is ‘Sparta-3’. But because of the ban on that ship, they changed the name of the same ship and gave it the new name ‘Ursa Major’. But according to international rules every ship has a number, which they have not changed. As a result, the matter was known.
In this regard,” a former diplomat here said, ‘Many people may think that Dhaka has taken a stand against Washington or the countries of the western world in some cases after seeing the various statements or actions of the government. But that is not the case. The government takes decision considering national interest. It may not match the views of other countries in many cases. This is exactly what happened involving Russia.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh has given a list of banned ships to the Department of Shipping today to avoid such problems. (UNI)