Bangladesh Coast Guard

History

The Bangladesh Navy had been performing the duties of a Coast Guard in addition to own duties of maritime defence since the independence of Bangladesh. As time passed, the growing responsibility and workload became inconvenient for the Bangladesh Navy, with the increasing volume of policing duties at sea taking away from its primary role. The emergence of the Bangladesh Coast Guard was the result of the growing awareness in the Government for the requirement of a separate service to enforce national laws in the waters under national jurisdiction and ensure safety of life and property at sea. Following this the Coast Guard Act 1994 was passed by the Parliament in September 1994. Formally the Bangladesh Coast Guard in its present shape came into being on 14 February 1995 and started operational activities with two patrol craft received from Bangladesh Navy. The force is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard motto is ‘Guardian at Sea’.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard is a unique force that carries out an array of civil and military responsibilities touching almost every facet of the Bangladesh maritime environment. The force now has a zone, three bases, 18 stations, 10 outpost, 57 different categories of water vessels and eight pontoons along with 3,339 manpower.

Role and mission

Over 90% of Bangladesh exports and imports pass through two sea ports at Chittagong and Mongla. Sea-lines communication to these two sea ports are the life lines of the Bangladesh economy. UNCLOS 1982 has made provision for sovereign rights for exploration and exploitation of living and non living resources in the Bangladesh EEZ. The fishery sector contributes an important part of national export earning. A significant quantity of gas has been discovered at Sangu in the Bay of Bengal, the extraction of which has already started. Apart from these, a vast number of ships and craft of various types and sizes operate at sea for trade, commerce, fishing, research, exploration and extraction of oil, gas and minerals and so on. To exercise effective control, to ensure safety and security and protect national and international maritime interest at sea, all these diverse activities are brought under various national and international laws and acts.

Mission

Control piracy, illegal trafficking, protect fishery, oil, gas, forest resources and environmental pollution in Bangladesh waters and coastal areas, ensure overall security and law and order through security assistance to sea ports, conduct relief and rescue operation in the coastal areas during natural calamity

Primary

Secondary

Area of jurisdiction

The area of jurisdiction of the Bangladesh Coast Guard is the sea territory of Bangladesh as declared under the Territorial and Maritime Zone Act, 1974. The Bangladesh Government being a signatory has ratified UNCLOS, 1982.

Areas of Jurisdiction in the Bay of Bengal are:

Apart from the sea territory of Bangladesh, the government has also placed the waterways of the mangrove forest of Sundarban and major rivers up to Dhaka under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has the following zonal command: East, West, South and the Dhaka sub zone.

Director General

Rear Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury NBP, OSP, BCGM, ndc, psc is the present Director General of Bangladesh Coast Guard.

List of Director Generals (DG) of the Bangladesh Coast Guard

Future modernization plan

The Bangladesh government has started a massive modernization plan named "Coast Guard Goal 2030" to enhance the capabilities of Bangladesh Coast Guard. A training base for coast guard named CG Base Agrajatra has been set up at Patuakhali.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard received six Aluminum Workboats from Croatia in 2014. These boats are 10.8 meters long, with 2 motors Volvo Penta D6-370 and Hamilton Jets HJ274. Two harbor patrol boats were added to the Coast Guard fleet, built at DEW Narayanganj.

Bangladesh also ordered X12 high speed boats from PT Lundin Industry of Indonesia. These ships are made of carbon composite and have a length of 11.7 metres (38 ft) and a speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). 6 of the boats will be built in Indonesia and the rest in Bangladesh. The construction of eight pontoon boats are also taking place at different shipyards.

The government approved the purchase of four Minerva-class ships from Italy for use by the Coast Guard. The ships will be transformed into offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) before arriving in Bangladesh. The purchase of two large vessels is planned. These ships will provide the ability to extend the patrol range of the Coast Guard.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has signed a contract with Narayanganj Dockyard for the construction of two inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) and two fast patrol boats (FPBs). The FPBs will be 43.4 metres (142 ft) long, 6.4 metres (21 ft) wide and have a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). The IPVs will be 52 metres (171 ft) in length, 7 metres (23 ft) wide with a maximum speed 25 knots. The vessels are expected to be delivered within 2017.

On 19 May 2015, the Bangladesh government approved a project costing Tk. 468 crore to strengthen the coast guard. The project includes the procurement of three inshore patrol vessels, six large high-speed boats and one floating crane.