Bangladesh is entering a critical period in developing its maritime legal and economic framework. After more than four decades under the Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983, the Government is now progressing towards a new Merchant Shipping Act. This legislative transition coincides with a significant expansion of Bangladesh’s private ocean-going fleet, which crossed 100 Bangladesh-flagged vessels in 2024. At the same time, the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act, 2019 was enacted to strengthen the position of Bangladesh-flagged vessels and replace the earlier 1982 protection ordinance. The coexistence of these developments raises an important policy question: will Bangladesh’s emerging maritime legal framework strengthen domestic shipping capacity or unintentionally create regulatory space that disadvantages national ship-owners? This paper argues that maritime legislation should be viewed as an instrument of national economic security rather than merely a mechanism for administrative regulation. Effective implementation of the 2019 Act, together with carefully designed provisions in the proposed Merchant Shipping Act, is essential to protect Bangladesh’s freight-carrying capacity, encourage private investment, and maintain a competitive national shipping industry.

Bangladesh is fundamentally a maritime trading nation. A substantial proportion of its international trade depends on the uninterrupted movement of cargo through seaports and international shipping networks. Consequently, the strength and resilience of the national maritime freight market directly affect economic security.

The legal foundation of Bangladesh’s merchant shipping sector has remained largely rooted in the Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983. The maritime environment, however, has changed dramatically since 1983. International shipping is now characterised by complex chartering structures, global financing, digitalisation, cybersecurity requirements, environmental regulation, increasingly sophisticated supply chains and intense international competition. The Government has therefore begun replacing the older framework. The Department of Shipping has published the Draft Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Act 2026 together with a series of draft regulations covering matters including registration, safety, SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, ISM and other areas of merchant shipping.

Responsible Organization

The Department of shipping act as the keeper for all matters related to shipping whether that is inland or overseas. The MSA includes all activities related to ship registration, operation and management of vessels over 150 GRT at seas. This legislative moment is particularly important because Bangladesh’s private ocean-going fleet has simultaneously expanded rapidly. Bangladesh-flagged ocean-going vessels reached 101 in 2024, with a combined carrying capacity of nearly five million tonnes. (TDS). The central argument of this paper is therefore that the new maritime law must consolidate—not inadvertently reverse—the progress made in developing Bangladesh’s national shipping capacity.

 The 2019 Act and the Protection of National Shipping Interests

The Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act, 2019 is particularly relevant to this discussion. The act was enacted after consideration of the need to review and modernise the earlier framework within the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection) Ordinance, 1982. Its legislative purpose was to establish contemporary statutory protection for Bangladesh-flagged vessels. The significance of the 2019 Act goes beyond its individual provisions. It represents a policy decision by Bangladesh to recognise the strategic importance of maintaining a national fleet. The underlying principle is straightforward: if Bangladeshi entrepreneurs invest substantial capital in ocean-going vessels, national policy should provide a reasonable and transparent framework within which those vessels can compete.  This does not mean that Bangladesh should isolate its shipping market from international competition. Rather, it means that international competition should take place on a level playing field and should not result from regulatory disadvantages imposed upon Bangladesh-flagged vessels. The 2019 Act was intended to protect and promote the interests of Bangladesh-flagged vessels. However, where implementation is incomplete, delayed, inconsistent or subject to competing interpretations, the practical effect of statutory protection can be significantly reduced. This is a crucial policy lesson for the proposed Merchant Shipping Act.

In other words, the security of national shipping depends not only on the text of legislation but also on the manner in which that legislation is implemented. This issue deserves particular attention because multiple stakeholders have legitimate interests in the new legislative framework. Shipowners, charterers, cargo interests, freight forwarders, shipping agents, ports, financial institutions, seafarers and international commercial actors may all seek provisions favourable to their respective interests. Stakeholder participation is essential to good legislation. However, the final framework must be determined by the wider national interest rather than by the strongest individual commercial lobby. 

The New Merchant Shipping Act: An Opportunity and a Risk

The proposed Merchant Shipping Act 2026 provides Bangladesh with an opportunity to modernise its maritime regulatory architecture. It should incorporate contemporary international standards relating to safety, environmental protection, maritime labour, security and ship management. It should also reduce unnecessary administrative complexity and provide greater certainty to investors. At the same time, the legislation should not inadvertently weaken the policy objectives embodied in the 2019 Flag Vessels Protection Act. The Government should therefore undertake a policy consistency test before finalising the new Act. Every major provision affecting ownership, registration, chartering, cargo movement or commercial operation should be assessed against a simple question: Will this provision strengthen or weaken Bangladesh’s national shipping capacity over the long term? Such a test would be particularly useful where provisions of the new Act interact with the 2019 protection framework. 

Bareboat Charter and Foreign Commercial Participation

Bareboat charter is one area where careful consideration is particularly important, as it is newly proposed to be included in the MSA 2026. Bareboat charter is no doubt a  legitimate and widely used international shipping arrangement. It can enable companies to access vessels without purchasing them outright and can facilitate fleet expansion and alternative financing structures. However, the legal consequences can be significant because ownership, registration, operational control, management responsibility and commercial benefit may be separated.

The new law should therefore establish clear and transparent rules concerning:  eligibility for bareboat charter; registration and flag status; beneficial ownership; operational and technical management; safety and environmental responsibility; taxation and foreign-exchange implications; duration and renewal of charter arrangements; and responsibilities of owners, charterers and managers.The objective should not be to prevent foreign participation. Bangladesh benefits from international investment and commercial expertise. The objective should be to ensure that foreign participation complements rather than displaces national maritime capacity. External commercial interests will naturally examine new opportunities created by regulatory reform. This is normal in an international market. The responsibility of government is to ensure that new opportunities are structured in a way that produces sustainable benefits for Bangladesh.

 Domestic Ship-Owners and Economic Security

The rapid growth of Bangladesh’s ocean-going fleet demonstrates why this issue has strategic importance. The fleet crossed 100 vessels in 2024, compared with only 36 vessels in 2018. This represents more than an increase in the number of ships. It represents private capital invested in national maritime capacity. It creates employment for Bangladeshi seafarers and professionals, supports maritime services, generates demand for insurance and finance, and strengthens the country's knowledge of international shipping markets. A strong domestic fleet can also provide resilience during periods of global freight disruption. For these reasons, national shipping capacity should be treated as a component of economic security. A policy that unintentionally weakens Bangladesh-flagged vessels may therefore have consequences beyond individual ship-owners.  It could increase dependence on foreign shipping capacity and reduce the country's ability to influence or withstand freight-market disruptions.

Recommendations for the New Maritime Legal Framework

  • Protect the policy intent of the 2019 Act
  • The new Merchant Shipping Act and subordinate regulations should be explicitly reviewed to ensure that they do not undermine the legitimate protections and objectives established under the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act, 2019.
  • Establish a national economic-interest assessment.
  • Before adopting provisions affecting ownership, chartering, cargo access or vessel registration, government should assess their likely impact on: Bangladesh-flagged fleet growth; domestic ship-owner competitiveness; national freight capacity; employment; foreign-exchange flows; maritime services; and long-term economic resilience.
  • Make implementation measurable.
  • The Government should establish clear implementation procedures, responsible authorities and timelines. The success of the 2019 Act and the new Merchant Shipping Act should be assessed by outcomes—not simply by enactment. Useful indicators could include Bangladesh-flagged cargo share, fleet growth, vessel registration time, port turnaround, domestic investment and utilization of national shipping capacity.
  • Ensure meaningful but balanced stakeholder participation
  • BOGSOA, ship-owners, seafarers, cargo interests, ports, shipping agents, freight forwarders and other stakeholders should be consulted. However, consultation should not become an opportunity for any single interest group to dominate the regulatory outcome.
  • Regulate/adopt bareboat charter carefully.
  • The new law should permit commercially useful bareboat arrangements but require transparency regarding ownership, beneficial control, management and economic consequences.
  • Establish periodic review.
  • The maritime sector is changing too rapidly for legislation to remain static for decades.
  • The Government should establish a formal review mechanism through which the economic and security consequences of major provisions can be assessed periodically.

 Conclusion

Bangladesh is at an important turning point in maritime governance. The replacement of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983 with a modern Merchant Shipping Act is necessary. But legislative modernisation should not be separated from the country's strategic objective of developing a strong and sustainable national shipping industry.  The Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act, 2019 provides an important policy foundation. Its central objective should not be weakened through ineffective implementation, conflicting subordinate regulations or commercial arrangements that unintentionally disadvantage Bangladesh-flagged vessels.

The rapid expansion of the national fleet demonstrates that Bangladeshi private investors can respond positively when government policy provides confidence. The policy challenge now is to ensure that this confidence is maintained.  International participation, foreign investment and modern chartering structures can contribute significantly to Bangladesh’s maritime economy. But openness must be accompanied by safeguards that preserve national economic interests and maintain a viable domestic shipping sector. The Government should therefore adopt a long-term perspective. The question is not simply what a particular provision will achieve today, but what it will mean for Bangladesh's maritime capacity ten, twenty or thirty years from now. The new Merchant Shipping Act should consequently be designed around three principles: internationally compliant, commercially pragmatic and nationally strategic. The ultimate objective should be to create a maritime legal framework in which Bangladesh-flagged vessels can compete, private investors can invest with confidence, international partners can participate transparently, and the national freight market becomes more secure and resilient.