Flooded Port Yards Halt Cargo Handling at Sea
The lower sections of stacked cargo containers remain submerged in floodwater at Chattogram Port.
Rough seas have suspended cargo loading and unloading from ships at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port for the past three days. Several container yards inside the port's secured area are now flooded. The lower sections of stacked cargo containers remain submerged, raising fears of damage to imported goods.
The rough sea has completely halted cargo unloading from 50 large vessels anchored at the port's outer anchorage and in the deep waters off Kutubdia. The ships are carrying a combined 2 million tons of cargo, including raw materials for cement production, crude soybean oil, raw sugar, stone, scrap metal, and coal.
Sarwar Hossain Sagar, chairman of the Ship Handling and Berth Operators Association, said cargo unloading from the vessels has remained completely suspended since Monday. Under normal conditions, the ships can unload up to 500,000 tons of cargo a day.
Flooding in the port yards has also prevented customs officials from conducting physical inspections of goods for the past two days. As a result, C&F agents have been unable to deliver cargo on schedule because inspections have not taken place and the required transport has not been available. Importers are also paying additional container storage charges because of the rain.
Iqbal Hossain Rubel, office secretary of the C&F Employees Union, said cargo approved for delivery has not been released from the port. As a result, importers have had to pay container storage charges for the past two days.
Union leader Khairul Bashar Liton also said importers who had received clearance failed to collect 10 percent of their cargo over the past two days. Waterlogging has affected areas inside and outside the port, including truck stands and access roads. As a result, trucks and covered vans have been unable to reach the port on time.
