Large ships of 200 meter long and 10 meter draft will arrive at Chattogram port. The process of scrapping large ships was initiated following a survey report prepared by a foreign agency.
It will have a positive impact on the country's import-export trade and will save billions of dollars in the transportation sector. Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Mohammad Omar Faruq gave such information.
He said, we will conduct a trial run in view of the report provided by the research institute. If successful in this run, we will ask foreign shipping companies to send larger ships. I will give berthing when big ships come. The jetty at Chattogram port can currently accommodate ships of 9.5 meter draft and 190 meter length. Since January 2015 vessels of the above draft and length have anchored in the port. Earlier small ships used to come to the port. Congestion of relatively small ships increases the cost of transporting goods.
In the current situation, those involved in the shipping business and import-export trade in c have been demanding for increasing the length and draft of the port for a long time. But the port authorities did not suddenly decide to increase the draft without being sure. It was decided to conduct the survey through an organization specializing in the matter. In light of this decision, HR Welling Port, a research institute in London was given the task of researching the Karnaphuli River and the harbour channel.
They researched three issues. Study on the current condition of the channel and jetty, the exact number of draft and length of ships that can be handled in the port, the amount of space on both sides of the port that can be used for the expansion of the jetty or yard and the maximum draft and length of ships that can be handled in the port if any special measures are taken.
For more than a year, the research institute conducted a survey in Chattogram port. Recently they gave the final report. In the report, the organization presents detailed information about the port channel, the Karnaphuli River and the port. Ships of 10m draft and 200m length can now be handled at Chattogram port using the existing infrastructure.
However, dredging at some points of the river by doing some work on the bends near the outer anchorage and Guptakhal can accommodate a vessel with a draft of 225 meter in length and 11 meter in the port channel.
Chattogram Port Authority Chief Hydrographer Commander Arifur Rahman said that the 17 jetties of the port will not have the same draft. It will be possible to provide 10 meter draft at New-mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT). Besides, the draft can be increased in some of the General Cargo Berths (GCB). Jetty No. 2-8 of the GCB of the port currently accommodates vessels with a depth of 9 m. There the draft is slightly increased but it does not seem to be 10 meter. However, it will be possible to increase the draft to 10 meter at Jetty No. 9-13.
Port officials said that GCB 6 jetties are crowded with container ships. 10 meter draft will be possible there. Container transport will be positively impacted if ships 200 meter long and 10 meter deep can be docked at the port.
At present, a container ship of 190 meters length and 9.5 meters draft capable of handling Chattogram port can transport a maximum of 1600 TEUS containers.
It will be possible to transport 2700 TEUS containers on ships of 200 meters length and 10 meters draft. It will transport many more containers at almost the same cost, which will not only have a positive impact on the port's container transport and handling, but will also save billions of dollars financially.
At present transhipment ports like Singapore, Port Kelang in Malaysia, Tanjum Pelepas, Colombo in Sri Lanka and some ports in China operate vessels of 9.5 m draft. The port said that the shipping companies will have to allocate more draft ships to operate on this route.
Vice President of Bangladesh Freight Forwarder Association Khairul Alam Sujan said, "If more draft and longer ships are crowded than before, the container transportation on the same ship will increase at the same time. This will reduce the cost of importing and exporting goods."
Many ships in the world's shipping sector cannot come to port. In the existing situation, those involved in the shipping business and import-export trade in Chattogram have been demanding about increasing the length and draft of the port for a long time. The port authority did not suddenly decide to increase the draft without being sure.
