Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners' Association (BCVOA) and the Coastal Ship Owners Association of Bangladesh (COAB) Sunday urged the government to immediately implement the National Logistics Policy 2024, particularly its provisions related to cargo transport by vessels.
At a press conference held at the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital, BCVOA General Secretary Mehbub Kabir placed several demands on behalf of the associations.
Also present at the event were Mohammad Khurshid Alam, vice-chairman of COAB; GM Sarowar, vice-president of BCVOA; and Masud, joint secretary of BCVOA; among others.
They called for forming the board of directors of the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell (BWTCC) based on the majority representation, clearing outstanding demurrage payments worth Tk 2.11 billion, settling all unpaid transport fees, stopping the practice of using vessels as floating warehouses, and ensuring that all ships operate strictly in sequence under the logistics policy.
Mehbub presented the keynote, saying although vessel owners were transporting goods according to the serial system mandated in the policy, a syndicate of cargo agents - a leftover from the fascist-era government - continued to transport goods without following the queue.
"While we wait two to three months for a single trip following the serial, these non-serial vessels manage to transport goods illegally three to four times a month. Some factory owners are also hiring chartered vessels in violation of the policy," he said.
He said some cargo agents had not paid the Tk 2.11 billion in settled dues owed to vessel owners till 2023.
They had withheld nearly Tk 2.0 billion in transport charges. Although a former director general of the Department of Shipping issued a decision in February 2023 regarding the payment of the settled demurrage, the dues remained unpaid, he also said.
A committee was later formed, which also recommended repayment, but some agents refused in a meeting this year - a stance strongly protested against by vessel owners.
Mehbub claimed that due to the crisis, hundreds of millions in dues remained stuck, forcing many vessel owners to scrap ships one after another, while thousands of workers had already become unemployed.
If the situation continued, a severe shortage of vessels would emerge, he warned. He further said although the National Logistics Policy 2024 required representation on the policy-making committee based on the proportion of vessels owned, that had not been implemented.
Besides, he said the authorities must resolve the crisis within the next 15 days.
"Otherwise, if vessel operations are halted after 15 days, the responsibility will lie entirely with the authorities, not us," he added.
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