The latest export of Western Marine Shipyard to Ecuador-MV Isla Bartolomé was inaugurated by the President Rafael Correa recently. The ship earlier called MV Stella Atlantic was renamed MV Isla Bartolomé in memory of the British naval officer & naturalist Lieutenant Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan.
She will transport cargo from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. The President was happy to receive the ship from Bangladesh saying “it will serve thousands of merchants in the islands and of course to all its inhabitants”. He has also praised on high quality of the Bangladeshi made ship mentioning it will play a vital role in their economy.
The ship will be operated by Transnave, an Ecuador based state shipping company in South America. A commission from Ecuador having Captain Alejandro Villacis Aguilar-Director of Ecuadorian Navy Company and Mr. Luis Mera Brito-Managing Director of Transnave travelled to Bangladesh in June 2015 to procure the ship, which arrived in Ecuador on August 30, 2015.
It is a great achievement for the shipbuilding industry of Bangladesh as this export deal with Ecuador has been remarked as the very first trade between the two countries. Through this deal Bangladesh has been introduced to Ecuador & many South American nations for the first time which will further enhance our bilateral trade with S. America.
Isla Bartolomé is a 3,831 capacity Multipurpose Tweendecker Ship equipped with 120 tons heavy lifting cranes. The 88.6 meter ship was constructed by the leading shipyard of Bangladesh Western Marine Shipyard Limited under the German class DNV-GL.
