CHITTAGONG, Mar 4: Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has officially allowed berthing of a 190-metre-long vessel in its main jetty. A Hong Kong flag vessel berthed at jetty no 7 of the port, which is four metres longer than those earlier allowed to berth.
Quarters concerned consider it a milestone for the port because the authority had allowed berthing of 190-metre-long vessel in the jetties only on the port's special permission.
Businesses, mainly the break bulk importers, will draw benefit from the decision as the vessels with 190 metres in length and 10 metres draft could now easily berth in the main jetty without undergoing lightering of cargo at the outer anchorage.
Prior to it, the vessels over 186 metres in length and 9.20 metres in draft would not be allowed to berth directly to the main jetties of the port.
Former Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association Kamal Hayat said it is a positive step of the port authority. Shipping agents had been trying for long to give berth to the Panamax (190 metres long) vessels.
"I was accorded special permission to berth 190-metre-long vessel in the port's main jetties several years back. We asked the CPA to formalise the berthing of such vessels but they did not do so. It is good they have finally done it," he told the FE this afternoon.
The CPA last December decided to berth vessels up to 190 metres in the main jetties apparently under pressure from the shippers. However, the main jetties of the port have undergone dredging works recently before giving formal berthing to bigger vessels.
MV CMB Zialing, a Hong Kong flag vessel of 190 metres (623 feet) in length, berthed at jetty 7 on Tuesday with 24,883 tonnes of wheat imported by a major food grain importer BSM Group of Khatunganj, Chittagong.
Sources said the vessel has brought 53,115 tonnes of wheat for the BSM Group, part of which has been lightered at the outer anchorage at Kutubdia of CPA.
The 189.90-metre-long vessel with draft of 12.77 metres reached outer anchorage on February 20. Over 28,000 tonnes of wheat were unloaded from the vessel at the outer anchorage while the rest was taken to the jetty for discharging.
Director (Admin) of CPA said today that they have allowed berthing of vessels up to 190 metres long and 10 metres in draft from yesterday as the authority has improved navigation in the main jetties.
There are 12 main jetties in the port, six of them for break bulk jetties and six others for container vessels.
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190-metre long vessel enters Ctg port jetty
Pankaj Dastider | Published: March 05, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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