Port workers call 24hr strike, Ramadan supplies threatened

The stalemate in import and export activities through the Chattogram port is set to deepen further as workers called for a 24-hour strike starting at 8:00am today to protest the government’s decision to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based operator DP World.

This comes after the workers observed an eight-hour work abstention in the last three days, which halted all types of operations.

Humayun Kabir, coordinator of Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad, said they vowed to wage a tougher movement if the government does not cancel its plan to lease out the NCT.

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) until Sunday issued orders transferring 16 port employees, including two key coordinators of the movement, to Pangaon ICT and Kamalapur ICD. None of them complied with the order.

The CPA yesterday issued another order directing the transfer of 15 of these employees to Mongla and Payra ports.

The port yards and ICDs have already started facing a pile-up of containers, while export shipments have begun missing schedules, forcing shipping lines to incur additional fees.

Such disruption may affect commodity prices ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, said port users.

The port usually delivers on average 4,000 TEUs of import containers per day, while daily delivery dropped to 1,700 TEUs in the last two days until yesterday morning, according to CPA data.

As a result, more than 5,000 TEUs of import containers have piled up at the port.

Congestion at the inland container depots has already reached an acute level and it might take one to two weeks to clear the piled-up containers, said Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association.

Vessels have already started facing prolonged stays at the jetties due to disruptions in loading and unloading operations.

One such vessel is SOL Prime, which berthed at CCT jetty-1 on Sunday afternoon. It is yet to complete unloading its total imports of 837 TEUs.

The vessel was supposed to leave Monday morning after receiving around 600 TEUs of export containers, but failing to receive enough volume, the ship now has to stay longer, said Muntasir Rubayat, head of operations of the ship’s local agent GBX Logistics.

The ship’s feeder operator will have to count additional charter hire worth $15,000 and pay $4,000 to the port authority for an additional day of stay at the jetty, he said.

Moreover, due to the delay, the export containers will surely miss connecting with the mother vessel at Singapore and ultimately be delayed in reaching destinations in Europe and the US.

Due to delays in cargo delivery, importers, mainly garment exporters, are facing delays in getting their imported raw materials from the port.

If the raw materials cannot reach factories on time, production will be severely hampered, said Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, a director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Due to several holidays for the national election as well as the slow work period during Ramadan, factories might suffer more production disruptions this month, he said.

Chowdhury stressed the need for an immediate solution to the crisis for the sake of the economy.

Over in Dhaka, negotiations between the government and DP World regarding the deal for handling NCT operations are ongoing at the Public-Private Partnership Authority office.

The government will not take any decision that goes against the national interest in managing the country’s ports, said Shipping Adviser M Sakhawat Hossain yesterday.

“The ministry supports whatever is good and beneficial for the port and the country,” he told journalists during a discussion at the shipping ministry, reports UNB.

Referring to the ongoing situation at Chittagong Port, Sakhawat said those involved in creating the ‘undesirable’ situation are being investigated.