Congestion slow down cargo handling activity at Chtg Port

Chittagong: A worsening scarcity of space at Chittagong port yards, with over 20,000 containers being stuck for the past few weeks, has further slowed down cargo handling operations at the country’s premier port, shipping business and port sources said.


The situation forces vessels to overstay for one to several days at the port jetties for loading or offloading of cargos and to count hefty sums in extra port rents for no fault of theirs, the sources said.


Chittagong port yards can house 13,000 containers.


But a snail-paced transference of imported goods has resulted

in the stockpiling of containers in the yards beyond their normal capacity, they explained.


‘Due to negligence of a section of traders, a huge number of containers have piled up here, causing the space crisis. We are trying to expedite removal of containers from the yards to end the space constraint,’ the Chittagong Port Authority chairman, Shahadat Hossain said.


He said, ‘To force the traders to take delivery of containers fast from the port, we have decided to increase the rent of the yard space with effect from September 25.


The importers, who will receive and transfer their containers before that deadline, will not be required to pay the new high punitive rents.’


‘We think such a punitive measure will make for a better situation at the port yards,’ he hoped.


Meanwhile, shipping sources said, the delay in offloading imported consignments at Chittagong port because of the lack of storage space has angered the ship operators.


“Now every vessel berthed at a Chittagong port jetty incurs a considerable loss due to the delay in offloading and loading of cargos. Due to the space crisis, ships are required to overstay for at least 48 hours, while the CPA exacts port rents from them as usual,’ said Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury, senior vice chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association.


‘As the importers are not serious to take delivery of their goods as quickly as possible so the port authorities must take some stringent measures to ensure rapid clearance of cargos from the yards and to bring back a normal pace of cargo handling, he said. ‘Otherwise, the crisis will only deepen day by day.