Hectic lobbying to get lucrative shipping jobs

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Strong lobbying continues for the lucrative posts of chief engineer and ship surveyors at the office of the director general of shipping as the current Chief Engineer Commander Monirul Islam is going for retirement on January 16.

The chief engineer is responsible for supervising issuance of survey certificates against around 8,500 vessels plying various domestic routes in the country. He also looks after the test and examination related issues of ship drivers and engineers.

There are allegations that the chief engineer and surveyors under him give certificate without surveying the vessels properly in exchange of bribe while plying of faulty passenger launches often causes disasters.

The surveyors allegedly take Tk 3,000 to 5,000 for issuing an annual survey certificate for a vessel plying the domestic route while they take Tk 20,000 to 25,000 for giving approval for a vessel to cross the Bay, sources said. The number of accidents in the Bay of Bengal increased recently as the unfit vessels often cross the sea and go to Chittagong through obtaining certificates from a surveyor.

The Chittagong port magistrate arrested a number of such vessels and informed the director of shipping about the matter on several occasions, said the sources.

But the launch owners have continued operating faulty vessels through maintaining ‘good relations’ with the chief engineer and surveyors while the government’s initiatives to stop plying of faulty passenger vessels failed on several occasions due to a nexus between launch owners and ship surveyors.

In last two decades, major ferry disasters claimed around 5,000 people in the country.

The government is considering appointment of a navy officer as the new chief engineer but hectic lobbying is going on to influence the high-ups for appointing a chief engineer from the existing six ship surveyors.

Sources said the ship surveyors are lobbying with the government high-ups and offering handsome amount as bribe for getting appointment as chief engineer and ship surveyor.

The Director General (DG) of Shipping Shafiqullah recently sent a proposal to the shipping ministry recommending four surveyors as eligible for the post.

The post of chief engineer is a departmental one and one among the departmental officials should get the appointment, the shipping DG said.

The ministry will give the appointment that will be made known after January 16, he added.

None of the four recommended officials is eligible for the post as per requirement of the service rule, sources said, adding that the recommendation was made on the basis of seniority but the concerned officials are accused of various irregularities and corruption.

The senior most official allegedly got appointment through submitting false document. The second recommended official is accused of corruption and a departmental case against him is pending.

The next official is known as a most corrupt person in the department and faced temporary suspensions on several occasions. He also lost two years seniority for his alleged involvement with various malpractices.

A departmental case is pending against the official whose name was mentioned as number four.

Monirul Islam was appointed chief engineer in 2003 as the then chief engineer Motiur Rahman was made officer on special duty (OSD).

Although the post of the chief engineer belongs to the third grade, the government earlier appointed higher grade officials to the post, costing huge amount from the government exchequer.

It cost the government around Tk 56 lakh for accommodating a higher grade official in the post, sources said.

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