Bangladesh plans to restrict entry of older KPC vessels

The Bangladesh government plans to restrict the entry of Kuwait Petroleum Corp.’s (KPC) aged cargoes to Bangladeshi territorial waters on environmental and safety grounds, officials said. The Department of Shipping has requested Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. (BPC) not to allow supply of petroleum products by vessels older than 20 years to check oil spill or seepage of oil into sea water, a senior BPC official said. The move, officials say, could anger KPC, which in the past threatened to impose higher premium rates and reject letters of credit issued by Bangladesh’s state-owned banks. (September 16, 2010)