Turnaround-time at Ctg port rises marginally

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FE Report
Vessel turnaround time, a benchmark for a port's handling efficiency, at Chittagong port recorded a marginal rise in the past couple of months mainly because of labour unrest.
The turnaround time (TAT) starts when a ship arrives at the outer anchorage before being allocated a berth and ends with its departure.
According to Chittagong port statistics, the TAT in October was 2.59 days. It was around 3.0 days last September when the port faced a major labour unrest over rejoining of retrenched dockworkers. The TAT in September, 2008 was 2.25 days.
Rise in the TAT is also due to arrival of larger vessels in recent months at the port, port officials claimed.
"Arrival of larger ships carrying more than 1000 containers needs higher time to unload than small-sized feeder vessels." Moshiur Rahman Beg, terminal manager of Chittagong port told the FE.
Chittagong port's turnaround time started to fall after 1/11 in 2007. It was 12.24 days in November in 2006 during the political chaos in the country.
It dropped to 8.74 days in March in 2007, immediately after Army-led joint forces started implementing major reforms at the port.
The ships stay time declined to 4.84 days in April when a private operator at the port's main terminal - Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) was hired for handling.
However, port users including shipping agents, freight forwarders, exporters expressed their dismay over the port's gradual decline in efficiency.