CHATTOGRAM, Oct 14: The cargo handling activities, disrupted by cyclonic storm 'Titli' for last three days, resumed fully at Chittagong port on Sunday.
Unloading of bulk cargo resumed at the outer anchorage of the port on Sunday morning with the sky remaining partially clear and no rainfall on the day, port officials and sources concerned said.
Lighter vessels were leaving 17 ghats of the Karnaphuli river for the deep sea and returning with unloaded cargo, sources said.
An official at Water Transport Cell that allots lightering vessels for unloading bulk cargo from the outer anchorage said they allotted as many as 57 lighter vessels on a single day (Sunday) for lightering bulk cargo from mother vessels.
They allotted 60 lightering vessels for the same purpose before the catastrophic cyclone made landfall on Thursday, he said, adding that these lightering vessels could not approach mother vessels in the deep sea.
Since Thursday, lightering of bulk cargo at Kutubdia remained suspended due to incessant rainfall and rough sea for about three days.
However, loading and unloading of containerised cargo at six container jetties in GCB (general cargo berths) and two specialised container terminals remained almost normal during a change in the weather, a senior port official said.
He said unloading of goods from mother vessels carrying coal and stone etc partially resumed at the outer anchorage on Saturday afternoon with the weather starting to turn dry.
On the other hand, handling activities in container jetties were almost undisrupted. So, there is no chance of container congestion at Chittagong port, he said.
The WTC official said lightering vessels, owned by corporate houses, have also been engaged in lightering imported cargo and industrial raw materials.
Mother vessels of 190-metre plus LOA (length overall) and 9.50-metre plus draught cannot enter the port directly and wait at the outer anchorage of the Bay of Bengal for lightering a portion of cargo through lighter vessels.
When it rains and the sea turns rough, lightering vessels remain anchored in the upstream of the Karnaphuli River at Sadarghat, Majhirghat and other river ghats for safety.
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