Vessels are sitting idle and looking for alternative routes failing to get adequate consignments for carrying on the Chittagong-Pangaon route, officials said.
Two years have passed since the inland container terminal (ICT) was inaugurated in November 2013, but until now no export container was shipped from Pangaon. However, the terminal handled nearly 1,700 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers during the period.
Presently, some four vessels are ready to ply on the route mainly to carry export-import consignments by waterways. The ICT was built to handle export-import shipments to lessen traffic pressure on busy Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
The MV Harbour-1, owned by Neepa Paribahan Ltd, had declared its debut voyage schedule on Chittagong-Pangaon route for November 08 last. However, the newly-built container vessel worth Tk 220 million could not make the voyage over two weeks after the scheduled date due to lack of containers and cargoes.
Now the ship owner is looking for alternative routes and has applied to the department of shipping (DoS) to allow it to ply through Indo-Bangladesh coastal routes for which the two countries signed standard operating procedure (SOP) last week.
Managing Director of Neepa Paribahan Nasir Ahmed Chowdhury expressed his frustration over availability of very few numbers of containers in Chittagong port for carrying to the Pangaon ICT.
"We could not make the debut voyage until now due to dearth of containers. Sailing with only six to seven containers is not feasible for us," he told the FE Thursday.
He said there was a decision that at least 20 per cent export-import containers would be handled by the Pangaon ICT to make it functional. Since no gazette notification was published until now, the Chittagong Port Authority, which handles the operation of Pangaon ICT, has failed to enforce the decision.
As a result, Mr Chowdhury said, the Pangaon ICT is not getting adequate containers leaving the terminal non-functional.
His vessel is now awaiting approval from the DoS to start plying on Indo-Bangladesh coastal shipping route. "Now we want to carry containers from Indian ports to the Chittagong port and the Pangaon ICT."
Mr Chowdhury said several other container vessels are getting ready including one owned by Aryan Traders Ltd to ply on Chittagong-Pangaon or Indo-Bangladesh coastal routes.
"Now we need the government's assistance so that our vessels can start carrying goods immediately instead of staying idle," he said.
Three vessels, owned by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), which were leased out to the Summit Alliance Port, are now making voyages with 10/12 containers each time.
A senior official at the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) told the FE nearly five more vessels will be ready by December for carrying containers.
"The CPA is responsible for operation and marketing of the Pangaon ICT. But until now the authority could not show any success," he said.
He said the MoS had meetings with stakeholders and asked the CPA to take steps for making the ICT functional. But, it is yet to take any visible step for the same.
The official said the MoS has suggested 70 per cent cut in user fees to attract traders in using the Pangaon ICT but the proposal is yet to get approval from the ministry of finance.
When contacted, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy told the FE that traders want their export-import goods to reach destinations in time.
"Unless there are adequate numbers of vessels on the route, maintaining schedule with mother vessels won't be possible. To us, time is money. Apart from money, we also consider consumption of time while calculating overall costs," he said.
He said if the vessels from the Pangaon ICT can go directly to Singapore or Colombo to reach mother vessels with the containers, less time will be required. "But, if the containers need to be unloaded and loaded again in Chittagong port to feeder vessels to reach mother vessels, exporters will suffer a lot in terms of time consumption."
Mr Murshedy hoped that the ICT would be busy once adequate numbers of vessels are available for carrying containers.
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