No shipping company under the banner of Chittagong Feeder Trade Committee (CFTC), except the HRC--the largest Bangladeshi-owned company with 10 ships--loaded any export cargo from Chittagong Port yesterday.

At the same time, no Chittagong-bound import cargo was loaded at ports in Singapore, Colombo and Klang.

The stalemate is feared to deepen as both Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the CFTC remained rigid on their position.

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) sources said a meeting of the shipping ministry, CFTC, BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association has been called today at the commerce ministry to settle the matter.

But the CFTC in a fax message to the CPA chairman said they will not participate in the meeting as many of their high officials will not be able to reach Bangladesh before Tuesday.

"We cannot sit without the top officials of our companies, who will not be able to return to Bangladesh before Monday as it will not be possible for them to complete visa procedures due to public holiday on Sunday in Singapore," Jamal Uddin Quader Chowdhury, director of QC Shipping Lines Ltd, said.

The meeting was not deferred as of writing this report at 9:00pm yesterday.

BGMEA President SM Fazlul Haque said the feeder vessel owners are holding the garment business hostage and now they are violating the court order.

He said the BGMEA is expecting a solution from the proposed meeting of the stakeholders and hoped that the CFTC will comply with the court order.

Jamal Uddin, however, said the CFTC did not violate the court order. "We do not realise the congestion surcharge from the exporters, we realise the money from the Main Line Operator," he explained.

He said someone should compensate for the congestion at Chittagong Port as "we have to pay a huge amount because our ships have to wait at the port for five to six additional days."

Meanwhile, the HC following a petition filed by the BGMEA on Thursday asked the chief executives of five companies--HRC, QC, OEL, Sea Consortium, and ACL--to be present in person and explain by September 17 why action will not be taken against them for violating its order.

Around 1,100 twenty-equivalent-unit containers usually leave for Singapore through six feeder vessel operators to join the Main Line Operators to reach destinations in Europe and America.

The companies charge $280-300 for each container for the Dhaka-Singapore trip. They recently imposed an additional $130 for each container as congestion surcharge.

In 2005, the Chittagong Port handled 7,83,352 six-metre-long (20ft) containers, up from 6,88,773 a year earlier.

Bangladesh's exports rose 21.6 per cent to $10.53 billion in the year that ended June 30, powered by a record 24 per cent export rise in textiles shipments.