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Ctg port operating in risky routes


Bangladeshpost
Published : 27 Jul 2021 09:31 PM | Updated : 28 Jul 2021 01:06 AM

Rahul Sarker Palash, Chattogram

The uncontrolled movement of cargo boats as well as the lack of modern equipment in lighterage ships is making the entire outbound-centered shipping route at Chittagong Port highly risky.

This navigable route through Chittagong Port is not as easy as it seems. In the last two weeks, 3 lighterage ships with goods worth crores of taka have sunk in 5 accidents out of 15 nautical miles.

The last time such a sand-carrying bulkheads ship named MV Hang-Gang One sank on the Padma Bridge was on July 13.  On July 10, the MV Fultala One and a sand carrier named Amirshah sank.

Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan said the lighter vessels are very old and have low speeds. They do not have radar, they have GPS in a small number of ships. The captains actually sail using age old manual methods.  Whenever the sea is rough and the currents are high, they cannot control the vessels.

Rice, pulses, wheat, sugar, crude oil, cement clinker, stone and coal are usually imported from different countries on regular basis.  As billions of taka are being lost as a result of the accidents, the route is also becoming dangerous for other ships using the routes.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce President Mahbubul Alam said that a lighterage ship costs around Tk 5 to 10 crore.  When drowned, the owner disappears.

Director of Litmond Shipping Limited Belayet Hossain said the owner had to invest heavily in service if the lighterage ship sank. Maintenance is not often done due to high costs.  As a result, many ship owners went bankrupt.

The port authorities have also identified various defects in the lighterage ships as the cause of the accidents on this route.

Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan said there was no water tab subdivision in the lighterage vessel.  They take the cargoes in a tank.  When the ship automatically capsizes, it sinks.

 At present there are 2600 lighterage ships registered in the country but 1700 are operating regularly. However, hundreds more bulkheads and cargo boats are operating without permission.