Following the sinking of the passenger ferry Shariatpur-1, on 13th March after
being hit by a small cargo ship in the Meghna River, south-west of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu offered his condolences and sympathies to the families of all those who lost their life.

Speaking to the Organization’s Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and
Search and Rescue (COMSAR), in session last month the Secretary-General also
expressed the solidarity of IMO, at these difficult times, with the Government of
Bangladesh. He reiterated IMO’s readiness to respond to any request from
Bangladesh for assistance for technical co-operation.