Vessel movement at Chattogram port halted as workers escalate strike

Movement of all incoming and outgoing vessels through the Karnaphuli channel at Chattogram port came to a complete halt this morning as port workers and employees escalated their protest against the planned leasing of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based operator DP World.

The protesters, who had been observing an eight-hour partial strike for three days since Saturday, enforced a 24-hour work abstention from this morning, demanding cancellation of the government’s move to lease out the terminal.

Although the stalemate over the past three days had remained limited to operational activities at the port’s main jetties, vessel movements had not been disrupted until today, port users said.

The situation worsened this morning when protesters blocked the pilotage process, forcing suspension of vessel movements between the port jetties and the outer anchorage.

“With this development, all types of port operations have come to a complete shutdown,” port users said.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA)-appointed pilots normally manoeuvre vessels between the jetties and the outer anchorage — a distance of about 14 nautical miles — through the Karnaphuli channel.

According to CPA officials, four vessels were scheduled to depart and eight vessels were due to arrive from the outer anchorage during today’s high-tide window between 10:00am and 2:30pm. None of the scheduled movements took place due to resistance by the protesters.

CPA Director (Administration) Md Omar Faruk confirmed the development to The Daily Star, saying protesters began agitating at the dock office before pilots could board vessels.

He said pilots who reached designated locations to begin vessel manoeuvring were unable to proceed, as protesters forced staff of supporting logistics services to stop work.

However, In a latest development, two vessels—including one from RSGT Chittagong, formerly Patenga Container Terminal (PCT), and the other from the KAFCO Ammonia Jetty—could depart around 2:00pm at the end of high tide after the CPA arranged a tug boat, an official at the CPA Marine Department said.

Sources said the agitation began around 10:00am at the dock office, from where logistics support services, including tugboats, pilot boats and mooring boats, are deployed. At one stage, protesters forced staff out of the office and locked it from outside.

A CPA Marine Department official seeking anonymity said protesters prevented crew members from operating the supporting watercraft required for safe vessel manoeuvring.

The container vessel MSC Polo, which had earlier postponed its scheduled departure yesterday due to a shortage of export containers amid the strike, was set to leave today but failed to depart as protesters obstructed other logistic supports required for pilotage, CPA officials said.

They added that eight CPA pilots waited for a long time in the Patenga area to head towards the outer anchorage to bring incoming vessels, but pilot boats could not approach due to the agitation.