Sohel Rana Babu, Bagerhat

The Forest Department, Bangladesh Coast Guard, and the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans (TOAS) have refuted recent media reports claiming that a tourist ship was targeted in a robbery attempt in the Sundarbans.

Authority officials clarified that while forest guards did chase a suspicious vessel and fired four rounds of blank shots into the air far off the Katka Sanctuary on October 3, the incident had no connection to any tourist ship.

According to officials, two tourist vessels—'The Wave-2' and 'Aral Sea'were anchored near the Katka Sanctuary in the East Sundarbans as part of their scheduled itinerary on the night of October 3. Around 9:00pm, a suspicious trawler began chasing a group of fishermen in the open sea, approximately 1.5 to 2 kilometres away from the sanctuary area.

Forester Tanvir Hasan Imran, Officer-In-Charge of the Katka Forest Camp, said he received a phone call from a local fisherman reporting that five to six fishermen were being pursued at sea.

"Upon receiving the information, an armed team immediately set out in our office trawler. Near the Kader Canal, facing the sea, we spotted the suspicious trawler at a distance. When we signaled it with a light to halt, it sped away toward the open sea in the opposite direction," Tanvir explained.

Forest guards fired four blank rounds and gave chase for about five kilometres, but the boat managed to escape due to the distance. The incident was promptly reported to higher authorities and the Coast Guard's Kachikhali camp.

Tanvir expressed frustration over subsequent media coverage, stating that news outlets reported the event as an "attempted robbery on a tourist ship" without contacting him for verification. He further alleged that statements were falsely attributed to him in some reports.

"The two tourist ships were safely anchored in front of the Katka office at the time, well over a kilometre away from where the suspicious boat was spotted. Both vessels later departed safely without any incident," he added.

Echoing this, Md. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Division, confirmed that no tourist ship was approached or threatened.

"Firing blank shots while pursuing suspicious movement is part of our routine security protocol in the Sundarbans. The guards acted immediately after receiving reports about a suspicious vessel. Sensationalising this routine security measure as an attack on tourists is entirely baseless," DFO Rezaul said, noting that no mainstream media outlet reached out to him before publishing the news.

Lieutenant Commander Mahbub Hossain, Media Officer for the Coast Guard West Zone, said,  field-level inquiries were conducted following the news reports. Coast Guard personnel spoke directly with tourists and crew members aboard MV Wave-2, none of whom saw, heard, or reported any unusual situation or attempt at robbery.

"Even during the height of pirate activity in the Sundarbans in the past, tourist ships were never targeted. Extra security measures, including scheduled patrols by the Coast Guard, are actively maintained throughout the tourist season," Lt Commander Mahbub added.

Meanwhile, TOAS addressed the issue at a press conference held at the Khulna Press Club yesterday, confirming that tourists on board were unaware of any gunshots or unusual events that night.

Expressing deep concern at the onset of the peak tourist season, TOAS leaders warned that exaggerated reports create unnecessary panic among travelers and harm the forest’s tourism industry. They urged journalists to verify facts with field officials and eyewitnesses before publishing sensitive security reports.