Methanol barge departs Assam for Bangladesh

A barge carrying about 540 metric tonnes of methanol departed Bogibeel Terminal in Dibrugarh, Assam, for Bangladesh on October 5, in a voyage described in reports as the first international cargo shipment from upper or eastern Assam since India’s independence. The departure was flagged off by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the event virtually. The methanol was produced by Assam Petrochemicals Limited at Namrup, according to reports. The vessel, identified as the DLB Patkai and pushed by the tug Kushal Konwar, is bound for Pangaon Port in the Dhaka area. The reports describe a route of about 768 kilometres along the Brahmaputra’s National Waterway 2 to the India-Bangladesh border, followed by the bilateral protocol route, for a total journey of about 1,300 kilometres. The barge’s arrival and delivery have not been confirmed in the available accounts. Sonowal said the voyage would test whether the Brahmaputra could serve as a commercially viable freight corridor connecting the Northeast with overseas markets.