Crude Tankers Don't Berth at Chittagong, They Anchor at Kutubdia

A crude tanker fixed into Bangladesh doesn't berth at Eastern Refinery's jetty the way you might assume. It anchors at Kutubdia, the same deep-draft outer anchorage we've covered elsewhere on this blog, and waits for Bangladesh Shipping Corporation's lightering vessels to come alongside and take the crude off in stages. There is no direct jetty call for a large crude carrier here, and a charterer who fixes one expecting a straightforward berth-and-discharge voyage is going to be surprised. Cargo acceptance and clearance depend on the exact description, HS or UN details where applicable, manifest and bill-of-lading data, receiver or C&F readiness, terminal rules and current Customs or competent-authority instructions. Facility acceptance, product and environmental constraints should be confirmed for the actual call.

How crude actually reaches the refinery

Eastern Refinery Limited, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation subsidiary that runs the country's main refining capacity at North Patenga, receives its crude via ship-to-ship transfer at Kutubdia, not via direct berthing. BSC operates two purpose-built lighter tankers, M.T. Banglar Jyoti and M.T. Banglar Shourabh, under contract to BPC specifically for this lightering work, moving crude from the mother vessel at anchorage into ERL's shore tanks. The mother vessel's job ends at Kutubdia; everything from there is BSC's lighterage operation.

What this means for your voyage time

Discharge rate on a lightering operation is governed by how fast BSC's two lighter vessels can shuttle, not by your vessel's own pumping capacity, and with only two dedicated lighters covering this route, availability isn't unlimited. If a lighter is tied up on another job, or undergoing maintenance, your tanker simply waits at Kutubdia until capacity frees up. This is a meaningfully different risk profile from a conventional product tanker discharging directly at a jetty, and your laytime clauses need to reflect that the "berth" in this trade is effectively another vessel, not a fixed shore structure.

Product tankers have more direct options, but still limited

Refined product imports, diesel, fuel oil, jet fuel, move through a different set of arrangements depending on the specific terminal and product, generally with more direct jetty access than crude has, though still constrained by the same draft limits that govern the rest of Chittagong's jetty system. A charterer should confirm with their agent exactly which berth or lightering arrangement applies to the specific product and receiver before fixing, "tanker port call at Chittagong" isn't one standard process, it varies by cargo type and ultimate receiver.

Weather risk sits differently for tankers at Kutubdia

Kutubdia anchorage sees the same March-to-May storm season and monsoon cyclone risk as the rest of this coast, and a tanker conducting ship-to-ship transfer in open anchorage is more exposed to a weather-driven stoppage than a vessel safely alongside a jetty. STS transfer operations get suspended in deteriorating sea conditions for good reason, and that suspension time is exactly the kind of delay that needs proper allocation in your charter party, is it owner's time, charterer's time, or an exception altogether.

What we'd flag before fixing a tanker into Bangladesh

For crude specifically, confirm BSC's current lighter vessel availability and any maintenance schedule that might affect your slot, this is genuinely two-vessel-limited infrastructure carrying the whole country's crude lightering load. For product cargo, get the specific berth and discharge arrangement confirmed by cargo type rather than assuming a standard jetty call. And build weather suspension risk into your laytime expectations for any STS-based discharge at Kutubdia, since that's a structurally different exposure than a jetty berth.