Private depots, lighter vessel operators warn of fuel crisis

Private container depots and operators of lighter vessels have urged the government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of diesel to keep export and import activities running smoothly.

Operators of the ICDs and the lighter vessels have alleged that they have been denied diesel from the state-owned depots Padma, Meghna and Jamuna as per their demand for the last few days.

If such a situation persists, operations could be disrupted, warned the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) and the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell (BWTCC) in separate letters to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the energy ministry.

Currently, the 21 ICDs located in Chattogram handle nearly all containerised export cargo and about 25 percent of containerised import cargo while operating as auxiliary facilities to Chattogram Port.

Export cargoes are stuffed into containers at these ICDs, which transport on average more than 2,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to the port daily for shipment.

More than 1,000 TEUs of import-laden containers are transported to the ICDs for customs procedures before being delivered to consignees. The 21 ICDs collectively require 60,000 to 65,000 litres of diesel every day to keep operations running.

Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of BICDA, said container-handling equipment such as reach stackers, side lifters, top loaders and forklifts, as well as prime movers and trailers used for container transportation, is entirely diesel-dependent.

Oil depots have been refusing to supply sufficient diesel to most ICDs as per their demand for the past few days, Sikder said.

In the BICDA letter, its President Khalilur Rahman said: “We have learned that Padma Oil Company Limited, Meghna Petroleum Limited and Jamuna Oil Company Limited have recently refused to supply diesel to the ICDs according to their demand. As a result, most ICDs are likely to face a fuel shortage very soon, which would pose a serious threat to the country’s export sector, import supply chain and the smooth functioning of Chattogram Port.”

In another letter to the secretary of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Shafiq Ahmed, convener of BWTCC, alleged today that many lighter vessels loaded with cargo remain stranded in the Karnaphuli River due to the fuel shortage.

Because of the diesel shortage, many lighter vessels are failing to reach the outer anchorage to unload import cargo from mother vessels, while others carrying cargo are unable to leave for their destinations, he wrote.

BWTCC officials said more than 70 mother vessels carrying imported bulk cargo are currently anchored at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port.

To move cargo from these vessels to destinations across the country, the organisation allocates around 100 lighter vessels daily, which together require around 400,000 to 500,000 litres of fuel to complete the trips, they added.