Chittagong Port to waive demurrage charge on stranded cargoes

The government will waive demurrage charges on import consignments that have remained stranded at Chittagong Port due to the ongoing blockade called by opposition political parties, sources said.
The waiver will be granted to only those cargos that have got customs out-passes since November 25, but could not be taken out by their importers due to the political troubles, they added.
"The waiver on store rent will be considered on case-to-case basis only for the 'delay' period," secretary of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Syed Forhaduddin Ahmed told the FE referring to a decision taken last week.
He could not, however, immediately calculate how many consignments would be given the waiver and how much money the port would lose on account of that.
"The amount covering the waiver facility can be determined when the importers will take delivery of the consignments," Mr Ahmed said.
Sources said shipping minister Shajahan Khan on last Wednesday visited Chittagong Port to have a meeting with the stakeholders on ways to make Pangaon inland container terminal operational. At the meeting, the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mahbubul Alam raised the issue of granting waiver as many consignments were stuck at the port because of the ongoing road and rail blockade.
He requested the minister to waive the demurrage charges levied on the consignments kept in the warehouses for extra time due to failure to take their delivery.
Following the request, the government has decided to give a waiver on the consignments, which were given the customs out-passes but remained stranded at the port.
The Chittagong Port Authority Monday informed the officials and people concerned about the waiver facility.   
Usually, the CPA charges US$ 6.0 per day after expiry of four free days for each 20-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) container. Until Monday some 17,000 TEUs were at the port-yards most of which contain imported goods.
Chittagong Port needs on an average 6,000 covered vans along with several thousand trucks to carry the cargoes. But the importers are not getting the required numbers of vehicles to carry cargoes due to the blockade, even after being prepared to pay rents four to five times higher, a Chittagong-based businessman told the FE.
According to a CPA note, it had to waive some Tk 175 million as store rent during the last four and a half years ending in June 2013, which put a negative impact on the port's income.
In most cases, the port authority had to waive realisable tariff against delay in taking delivery of cargoes from the warehouses, for which the port was not responsible, the CPA secretary said.