India allows Bangladeshi barges to sail with fly ash
FE Report | Tuesday, 22 July 2008
The Indian authority last Thursday gave the sailing permission to 50 Bangladeshi barges loaded with fly ash, a raw material for producing cement, that were stranded at Kolkata port since July 1.
The barges having capacity between 500 and 1800 tonnes were fully loaded with fly ash and were detained by the Indian side following sinking of a vessel.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in a circular issued July 1 restricted loading of fly ash to the full capacity of a vessel. The circular said barges will be allowed to load fly ash upto 70 per cent of its capacity.
They local barge owners, in protest, suspended their services to Kolkata since July 5 affecting the country's cement and steel industries.
Bangladesh's cement and steel factories are largely dependant on the raw materials imported from India and local manufacturers said they might face production disruption due to shortage of those inputs.
Raw materials like fly ash and slag for cement and some chemicals for steel industries are largely imported from India through river route.
"We stopped providing services to Kolkata and other ports under the existing protocol as our business will not be viable if we comply to 70 per cent load," said Abdul Karim, acting president of Bangladesh Cargo Vessels Owners Association (BCVOA).
He said local barges will incur losses if they load 70 per cent as the prices of fuel rose sharply.
"We want implementation of the decisions relating to the load of cargo signed July 7 by both the competent authorities," he added.
Around 150 Bangladeshi barges ply between India and Bangladesh through river route under the Inland Water-country Trade and Transit Protocol.
Sources at the cement plants in Dhaka said they import around 40,000 tonnes of fly ash a month for their factories apart from slag and steel chemicals.
The barges having capacity between 500 and 1800 tonnes were fully loaded with fly ash and were detained by the Indian side following sinking of a vessel.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in a circular issued July 1 restricted loading of fly ash to the full capacity of a vessel. The circular said barges will be allowed to load fly ash upto 70 per cent of its capacity.
They local barge owners, in protest, suspended their services to Kolkata since July 5 affecting the country's cement and steel industries.
Bangladesh's cement and steel factories are largely dependant on the raw materials imported from India and local manufacturers said they might face production disruption due to shortage of those inputs.
Raw materials like fly ash and slag for cement and some chemicals for steel industries are largely imported from India through river route.
"We stopped providing services to Kolkata and other ports under the existing protocol as our business will not be viable if we comply to 70 per cent load," said Abdul Karim, acting president of Bangladesh Cargo Vessels Owners Association (BCVOA).
He said local barges will incur losses if they load 70 per cent as the prices of fuel rose sharply.
"We want implementation of the decisions relating to the load of cargo signed July 7 by both the competent authorities," he added.
Around 150 Bangladeshi barges ply between India and Bangladesh through river route under the Inland Water-country Trade and Transit Protocol.
Sources at the cement plants in Dhaka said they import around 40,000 tonnes of fly ash a month for their factories apart from slag and steel chemicals.