Workers postponed strike
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury gave the assurance today
Maersk Group CEO to meet PM Hasina
A breakthrough finally came about yesterday over a stalemate centring issuance of waiver certificates which allow foreign flagged container vessels to carry cargo to and from the country’s seaports.
The forced shipment of empty containers from the yard of the Chattogram port is finally coming to an end, a positive development for foreign shipping liners as it would allow them to avoid the financial losses they have been incurring for the last six years.
Two more quayside gantry cranes, also known as ship-to-shore cranes, are going to be added to the existing ones at the Chattogram port by this week to enhance the port’s efficiency in handling containers to and from vessels.
Chattogram port handled a record volume of containers and cargoes in the just-concluded fiscal year riding on the rebound of Bangladesh’s international trade as global economies reopened from the coronavirus pandemic-induced economic slowdown.
The Chattogram port might soon be able to accommodate bigger vessels of up to 200 metres in length and having a draught of up to 10 metres, said Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) Chairman M Shahjahan yesterday.
Unloading of imported bulk cargoes from bigger vessels at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port remains halted immediately after water transport workers started work abstention early today to press home their 11-point demand.
India's Meghalaya state Chief Minister Conrad Sangma yesterday welcomed the decision to open the Chittagong port to facilitate trade with India's Northeastern states, saying it will cut transportation cost and expose their goods to international markets.
Members of the parliamentary standing committee on shipping ministry yesterday criticised Shajahan Khan for his ministry's “inaction”