New Western Marine Shipbuilders has handed over two inland passenger ships, MV Rupsa and MV Sugandha, to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), The Financial Express reported on 24 February 2026.
Each vessel can carry 764 passengers and 44 crew and is described in the company’s press release as the largest of its kind in the country. Accommodation includes 46 cabins for 92 passengers (4 VIP, 27 first-class and 15 second-class), 90 second-class chairs and a passenger deck for 582. The ships will serve the Dhaka-Khulna-Barishal river route at a maximum speed of 12 knots.
Western Marine Group managing director Captain Sohail Hasan said the ships would “ease pressure on road and rail transport” during the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday travel season.
Source
- The Financial Express: “New Western Marine Shipbuilders hands over two vessels to BIWTC” (24 February 2026)
File photo: a BIWTC ro-ro ferry (not one of the new ships). Photo: Shadman Samee from Dhaka, Bangladesh / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
