Indian transit shipments to get spl berthing facility

Syful Islam | Published: November 17, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Vessels carrying Indian transit shipments will enjoy special berthing facility at Bangladesh's Chittagong and Mongla seaports, officials said.
The two neighbours signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last June for transport of goods to north-eastern states of India using Bangladesh seaports.
"As far as Mongla port is concerned, we will be able to provide preferential berthing facility to vessels laden with goods for transit to Indian states," chairman of Mongla Port Authority (MPA) Riazuddin Ahmed told the FE Monday.
He said presently most of the jetties of the seaport remain free because of arrival of a lesser number of vessels.
"Vessels carrying transit shipments will get berthing as soon as they reach the port area," Mr Ahmed said.
He pointed out that usually the roads connecting the port with Dhaka and Khulna remain congestion-free.
"So, Indian goods transited through Mongla port won't face any obstacle during transportation," he said.
Sources said the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has informed the government that it would be able to offer 'window berthing' facility instead of fixed berthing to vessels of Indian transit goods. Â
The CPA said the Chittagong seaport is very busy handling country's own export-import goods, thus keeping jetties idle for specific vessels would not be possible.
However, the window-berthing arrangement would facilitate Indian vessels to get slot in any vacant jetty as soon as they call at the port. The CPA introduced window-berthing system at the country's prime seaport in 2007.
The CPA chairman, Nizamuddin Ahmed, told a recent meeting at the ministry of shipping that handling Indian cargo vessels would not create any problem in the port.
But he said setting up warehouses may be needed if the unloaded Indian goods are not transported immediately and need storage.
Shipping secretary Shafique Alam Mehdi told the FE last week that working out policies is underway for implementing the MoU regarding the use of the two Bangladeshi seaports by neighbouring India to transport goods to its seven-sister states.
During the bilateral shipping secretary-level meeting in New Delhi, steps on how to make the MoU operational were also discussed, among other issues.
India wants to get the transit and transhipment facility in Bangladesh mainly for carrying cargoes to its landlocked 'seven-sister states' of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
The Chittagong port has a capacity to handle an aggregate volume of 1.6 million TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units) of containers. On the other hand, the Mongla port has the capacity to handle 6.5 million tonnes of goods and 50,000 TEUs of containers annually.
syful-islam@outlooki.com