POTENTIALS, PRIORITIES AND PROSPECTS OF SHIPBUILDING
IN BANGLADESH
Dr Abdullahel Bari, FRINA
Chairman
 Ananda Group
10/1, 9th floor, City Heart 67, Naya Paltan
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Email: ananda@anandagroup.biz
PREFACE
    Bangladesh has been since 2005 building and exporting ships to owners from Denmark, Mozambique,
Germany, The Netherlands and Finland. Germanischer Lloyd has declared in September 2008 Bangladesh as a
shipbuilding nation of international standards. Bangladesh is traditionally a sea fairing nation and has a rich
heritage of timber shipbuilding of many hundred years. Ibne Batuta traveled back in 14
th
 century in a timber
ship built in Sonargoan, Bangladesh. Caesar Fredrick, the European traveler, reported Chittagong as one of the
best places for building timber commercial vessels in 15
th
 century. Sultan of Turkey had his fleet built from
Bangladesh in 17
th
 century. Bangladesh built timber warships fought in Trafalgar in 1805. Bangladesh is
presently contributing to the shipbuilding industries globally through its exported workforce. These facts do not
speak only of a heritage but of an inbuilt ability of shipbuilding of people of this region which had been for ages
dependent on waters. Bangladesh could not keep pace with the evolvement of new technologies such as, use of
man made materials replacing natural building material timbers and fuel burned power pushing away wind
power, i.e. sails. Bangladesh did not have well developed fleet for seaborne commerce nor adequate inland or
coastal carriers at her independence in 1971. There was nearly no serious shipbuilding in steel in Bangladesh
then. However only over a period of 40 years after independence, Bangladesh has developed a large fleet of
about 20,000 vessels comprised of inland & coastal commercial vessels, and various types of working and
fishing craft. There are indigenous shipyards, more than 200 in numbers (Fig.-1) building and repairing these
vessels and in turn have provided a strong prepared base for building ships of international standards. 
    Shipbuilding industry, to grow, needs among others, demand for shipbuilding, skilled low cost workforce,
elevated engineering skills, deep draft basins with access to the sea, a reasonable infrastructure, reasonably
good weather, long term government policy support, an attractive investment climate, allied forward &
backward linkage industries, a strong financial system, access to the shipping world and courageous
entrepreneurs. This presentation will establish that most of these Bangladesh already has and for a few
remaining, the environment is conducive for accelerated availability or a solution. National and international
issues and factors which may apparently not encourage shipbuilding in Bangladesh will be addressed to,
impacts of them evaluated and measures towards finding a solution, if there is any, incorporated.