First international cargo vessel leaves eastern Assam since 1947

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and others flag off the first international cargo vessel (right) from Bogibeel in Dibrugarh District, the first such shipment since 1947. Photo: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A barge carrying 540 metric tonnes of methanol left the Bogibeel Terminal in Dibrugarh district for Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday (October 5, 2025), marking the first international shipment from eastern Assam since India’s independence in 1947.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, flagged off the vessel DLB Patkai, pushed by the tug Kushal Konwar, carrying methanol produced by the State-owned Assam Petrochemicals Limited in Namrup.

The vessel, destined for Pangaon port in Dhaka’s Narayanganj, will travel about 768 km down the Brahmaputra River (National Waterway-2) to the India-Bangladesh border, and continue along the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route in the neighbouring country. The total distance is about 1,300 km.

Mr. Sonowal said the cargo shipment is seen as a test of whether the Brahmaputra can serve as a commercially viable freight corridor linking the northeastern region to overseas markets.

“Our grandparents grew up hearing the steamer whistle at Dibrugarh ghat. For 70 years, that whistle fell silent, and the ships stopped coming. A cargo vessel has left Dibrugarh for the world once again. The river never failed us, but the will to revive the route was lacking for decades,” he said.