Home
+
Published : 08 Apr 2026, 04:32 PM
Bangladeshi flag-carrier vessel “MV Banglar Joyjatra” has set sail from Ras Al Khair port in Saudi Arabia to cross the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
As of the latest updates on Wednesday, the vessel was at the outer anchorage of King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam.
If there are no further hindrances, the vessel is expected to cross the Strait of Hormuz after being stuck in the Persian Gulf for almost two and a half months.
The vessel, owned by the state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), set sail from Ras Al Khair port early Wednesday, with 31 Bangladeshi sailors aboard.
Captain Md Shafiqul Islam told bdnews24.com: "We left Ras Al Khair port at 8:30am local time. Our ship is carrying 37,000 tonnes of fertiliser.”
They have taken on sufficient fuel to make the crossing, he added.
The ship's chief engineer, Md. Rashedul Hasan, said: "We are now 400 nautical miles away from the Strait of Hormuz."
"Our ship is moving at a speed of 12 nautical miles per hour. Accordingly, we hope to cross the Strait of Hormuz by Thursday night."
The vessel’s next destinations are Cape Town and Durban in South Africa, he said.
"The ship will go there as per the instructions of the charter company. There are thousands of ships scheduled to enter and leave Hormuz. The stranded ships started crossing Hormuz soon after the ceasefire began."
Before the ceasefire was struck in the early hours of Wednesday, the ship had set off from the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates for the Strait of Hormuz to reach its next commercial destination, but it was forced to turn back when the UAE Coast Guard advised it not to proceed that way.
The vessel has been chartered from BSC by Singapore-based Dawa Agency, which hires ships to transport cargo for third parties.
‘Feels Like A Second Life’
Over the past two months, while staying in various ports across the Persian Gulf, the crew reportedly witnessed missile or drone attacks almost daily.
The crew members described the truce as feeling like being “freed from suffocation”.
"It feels like we have been released from prison. It's like we’ve been given a second life,” said Captain Shafiqul, who said he hoped to cross the Strait of Hormuz safely.
Rashedul said: "All of us endured a mental crisis for so long. Now, it is almost like we are free.
"Everyone has spoken to their family members."
