Waive port charges incurred amid recent unrest

The Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Association (BSAA) has urged the government to waive all port charges incurred for delays in container handling amid the weeklong unrest, internet outage and stringent curfew that began on July 18.

The BSAA, the country's sole trade body for shipping agents, said they faced acute problems in handling vessels and completing other formalities, such as releasing import containers, during the week.

"The shipping industry is completely internet based both locally and internationally," BSAA Chairman Syed Mohammad Arif said in a letter to the Chittagong Port Authority.

"Things have been returning to normal day-by-day ever since internet connectivity was restored," he added.

The BSAA also said the stay time, including turnaround time, of vessels both at berth and the outer anchorage has increased due to the recent unrest.

For example, vessels seeking discharge were held up for two to three days, with at some 10 feeder vessels and six breakbulk vessels failing to set sail as per schedule for delays in loading and unloading goods.

As such, each vessel incurred costs of approximately Tk 1.5 lakh per day.

Also, the BSAA said feeder vessels sailed with fewer export containers than originally booked while most of them failed to connect with second carriers at transshipment ports.

Besides, the breakbulk vessels have so far failed to secure future cargo bookings, it added.