On July 21, an explosion and fire occurred during the ship-to-ship transfer of LNG at the floating LNG terminal (FSRU) operated by Accelerate Energy off the coast of Maheshkhali. Following the accident, the terminal's operations remained suspended for nearly two weeks.
After the incident, State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit had informed that the terminal had caught fire before becoming inoperative. He said that at the time of the accident, an LNG cargo was positioned near the terminal. A major disaster was averted by quickly moving it to a safe distance.
Regarding the cause of the fire, the State Minister had said at the time that it is initially believed a boiler explosion had occurred. Additionally, some other related equipment may have been damaged. He also noted that this was a new kind of experience for Accelerate Energy, Summit, and the government of Bangladesh.
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Due to the accident, daily gas supply to the national grid decreased by approximately 500 million cubic feet. This caused a severe gas crisis in factories, power plants, and households in Dhaka and various regions across the country. The gas shortage also negatively affected power generation, disrupting electricity supply in different areas.
With the terminal resuming operations after two weeks, gas supply to the national grid is on track to normalize, and authorities expect the pressure on the industrial and power sectors will gradually ease.