‘Banglar Joyjatra’ crosses Hormuz, ending a 115-day stalemate

The Bangladeshi-flagged ship “MV Banglar Joyjatra”, which was stuck in the Persian Gulf for 115 days amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, has finally crossed the Strait of Hormuz.

The vessel crossed the Strait of Hormuz at 3am on Tuesday (Bangladesh time), according to Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) Managing Director Mahmudul Malek.

Earlier on Monday, another BSC official had said that the Banglar Joyjatra received permission from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to cross the strait.

After receiving permission, the vessel set off from the outer anchorage of Sharjah Port towards the channel of the Strait of Hormuz, 80 nautical miles away on Monday morning Bangladesh time.

Around 9:10pm on Monday (Bangladesh time) the website “Vessel Finder” showed the position of the Banglar Joyjatra parallel to Hengam Island between the Iranian island of Qeshm and the port town of Khasab in Oman.

At that time, the ship's speed was 6.6 nautical miles.

Around 10:10pm, “Vessel Finder” showed that the ship had passed Hengam Island. At that time, the ship's speed was 7.1 nautical miles.

After crossing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, the Banglar Joyjatra is heading to the Port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman in the United Arab Emirates.

The vessel’s next commercial destination is South Africa.

Captain Shafiqul Islam told bdnews24.com on Tuesday morning, "We crossed Hormuz around 3am. Many ships waiting also crossed around the same time. There were no obstacles from the Iranian Navy or Coast Guard. We are now heading to Fujairah and expect to reach around 1pm.

"Fuel oil and other necessary materials will be collected from Fujairah. Since the ship has been at sea for a long time, algae has accumulated on the bottom of the ship, and it will be cleaned at the port. After that, the Banglar Joyjatra will leave for South Africa with fertiliser."

He thanked all those who supported the crew during the ordeal.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key maritime route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, crucial for global energy transport.

This relatively narrow route connects the two gulfs.

The state-owned BSC vessel, chartered by a Singapore-based company, has 31 Bangladeshi sailors on board.

It became stranded in the Persian Gulf after arriving at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai on Feb 27, shortly before US and Israeli strikes on Iran escalated regional tensions.

Since then, the Banglar Joyjatra has been stuck in the Persian Gulf. It has attempted to cross the strait several times during lulls in the conflict, but did not manage to do so successfully until today.

After the signing of a deal between the US and Iran, the vessel awaited IRGC's permission to cross while remaining within 80 nautical miles of the strait on Thursday.

The Banglar Joyjatra set off from Qatar’s Mesaieed Port on Feb 26 carrying 38,800 tonnes of steel coils. It docked at Terminal 10 of Jebel Ali Port in Dubai the following day.

However, the unloading of the cargo was delayed when the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began on Feb 28.

A day after docking at the port, a missile hit an oil reservoir 200 metres away from the ship, causing a fire. A drone attack was also carried out at a Jebel Ali Port terminal amid the conflict.

The sailors of the Joyjatra spent several months in constant tension amid the drone and missile attacks.

A few days after its arrival, the unloading of goods from the ship began. Although the ship was supposed to return to Qatar after unloading the goods, the trip was cancelled by the war. After that, it was decided that the Joyjatra would head to Mumbai.

However, in order to travel to India, the ship would have had to cross the strait. Though it attempted to make the crossing, it was forced to turn back when the UAE Coast Guard warned it against proceeding.

When a ceasefire was declared, the Joyjatra set sail from Ras Al Khair Port in Saudi Arabia on Apr 8 to cross the Strait of Hormuz. But, due to lack of permission, the Bangladeshi-flagged ship was turned away.

It made another attempt to cross the strait on Apr 17, when Iran said it had opened Hormuz to commercial vessels. Although it set off from the UAE port of Mina Saqr, it was forced to return there once more after not receiving permission to cross the strait once more.

Finally, on Monday, the vessel received permission to cross the strait and was able to do so, bringing an end to the harrowing journey.