700 TEUs of containers miss shipment at Ctg port

Around 700 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of export containers missed scheduled shipment through Chattogram port on Thursday and Friday because of a three-day work abstention by the prime mover drivers and helpers in one of the 19 inland container depots (ICDs).

On Wednesday, the container carrying prime movers stopped operations demanding appointment letters as recognition of their permanent employment, a raise in trip allowances and annual increments.

The ICD has 40 prime movers. Of them, 25 belong to the ICD and the rest are supplied by two contractors.

A number of export containers missed scheduled shipment in the mornings of Thursday and Friday as those could not be sent to the port before the departure of the nominated ships, said Kazi Murad Hossain, executive director of the ICD.

However, operations at the ICD named Vertex Off Dock Logistics Services Limited located at Patenga area resumed today at 3 am after the management of the ICD and the workers' union leaders reached a consensus through a hours-long meeting.

More export containers may continue to miss shipment since the three-day stalemate created a backlog, Moazzem Hossain, senior operation manager of the ICD, told The Daily Star.

The stuffing of export cargoes was also hampered as a number of empty containers could not be brought from the port during the stalemate, he said.

He said many forwarders are trying to airship the export cargoes that missed the shipment through the port, which would increase the expense.