Dhaka, June 20 -- A mobile court conducted by the Department of Shipping fined nine sand-carrying vessels a total of Tk 1.7 lakh during a special inspection drive on the Sadarghat-Fatullah waterway on Saturday.

The operation was carried out from 11:00 am under the leadership of Department of Shipping Director General Commodore Md Shafiul Bari to ensure safe navigation and verify the legal and technical compliance of vessels operating on the route.

During the drive, 11 sand-carrying vessels were inspected. Authorities found that the actual dimensions of most of the vessels did not match the measurements stated in their registration documents.

Inspectors also detected a lack of mandatory life-saving appliances and navigational equipment ...