The crude oil carrier MT Ninemiya entered Chattogram waters on Wednesday, heading to the Kutubdia channel anchorage before noon. According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), customs formalities will be completed there, and lightering will begin before evening to transport the crude oil to the Eastern Refinery jetty. Two lighter tankers were dispatched early Wednesday, and unloading at the refinery depot is expected to finish by night. Preparations are underway to restart all refinery units on Thursday morning.

BPC sources said Eastern Refinery, the country’s only state-owned oil refinery, imports crude oil from Saudi Arabia for processing and marketing through BPC. The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) handles crude transport. Due to a two-month supply disruption, two of the refinery’s three main units were shut down. The refinery is now preparing to resume full operations after 22 days of closure.

BSC officials explained that shipping through the Hormuz Strait was suspended due to war, prompting Bangladesh to use Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port as an alternative route. The refinery used the downtime to repair two major units, which are now expected to increase production capacity.