Dwaipayan Barua

Relative normalcy returned to the Chattogram port yesterday after three days of disruptions to unloading of import shipments from cargo vessels berthed at the outer anchorage for rough seas and heavy rain.

The commerce ministry has once again decided to go for open market sales (OMS) of onion in Dhaka to tame the kitchen staple’s spiralling prices.

Onion prices marked a sharp rise in the kitchen markets of the port city in the last two days following a sudden hike in the wholesale market at Khatunganj where traders are citing the excuse of it being a ripple effect from neighbouring India.

Chattogram sea port has advanced six steps in a year in terms of annual traffic of containers in 2019, according to Lloyd’s List, the world’s oldest journal on ports and shipping.

The prices of edible oil both at the wholesale and retail markets in the port city have been on the rise for the last three weeks, putting an extra burden on consumers already distraught by the spiralling prices of other food items including vegetables.

The container ship that missed its scheduled departure from Chattogram port on Sunday morning after it was found to be listing to the starboard side, at last, left the port yesterday afternoon.

A container ship that was listing to its starboard side while anchored at Chattogram port on Sunday returned to equilibrium the following day but is yet to be cleared for departure, making exporters anxious about their cargo.

A new container shipping service between Chattogram and China will be launched tomorrow that will directly link Bangladesh to Vietnam on the sea route for the first time.

Unloading of imported bulk cargoes from vessels at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram port has remained suspended for the last three days until yesterday due to inclement weather resulting in rough seas and incessant rain.

After being afloat for over 21 hours in the Bay, all 14 crew members of a lighter vessel that capsized Saturday morning at Hatiya channel were rescued by local fishermen.

In what can only be considered a rare development, the number of container vessels waiting for berths at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram Port is zero at present.

Various types of imported hazardous cargo, including chemical and other inflammable goods, have been lying around at the designated shed and yards of Chattogram Port for years -- posing the threat of fires and other accidents.

The weekly bidding of the new tea auction year will finally take place in Chattogram today, two months later than its scheduled start on March 24, much to the relief of tea estates and small farmers, who are sitting on about 2 million kilograms of unsold tea.

To get rid of acute container congestion, the best option for the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) was to shift a bulk of them to the 19 privately owned inland container depots (ICDs) in the city and its outskirts.

Poor delivery of refrigerated containers, largely known as reefer containers, used to transport perishable goods continues to be a major hurdle for the Chattogram Port despite the recent improvements in the release of many other containers.

Importers such as apparel-makers have called for a full waiver on the detention charges levied by the shipping lines for holding containers beyond the free time because of the coronavirus-induced shutdown.

The Chattogram port handled 86,783 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers in April, the lowest single month throughput in six years, as the coronavirus pandemic put a brake on global and domestic trade.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) yesterday extended the deadline for full waiver on the storage rent for import load containers by 12 more days to May 16 after its two previous attempts failed to decongest the port.

The Chattogram port is finally drifting away from a standstill as the seemingly never-ending congestion both at the terminals and the outer anchorage is clearing up following a string of measures taken by the port authority and the government.

The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has once again announced full waiver on store rent for all import containers that have arrived after the general holiday began as it desperately attempts to decongest the country’s main port.