Ctg port overburdened with empty containers

Chattogram port, the country's main gateway to foreign trade, is grappling with a massive number of empty containers, far exceeding the capacity of designated yards, disrupting delivery and handling operations.

As of yesterday, a total of 7,158 TEUs empty containers were lying in the port's empty yards which have a capacity of just 5,500 TEUs according to Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) data.

To address the congestion, the CPA issued a 7-day ultimatum last week, asking stakeholders to remove empty containers either by loading them onto outbound vessels or shifting them to inland container depots (ICDs).

Failure to comply, the CPA warned, would result in fourfold increases in storage rent.

That deadline expired yesterday, and the situation has only worsened.

CPA's such cautionary move has yielded no positive result, as the port yards designated for the empties have become more choked with the deadline expired yesterday.

CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk said steps would be taken soon but did not elaborate.

Shipping agents, opposing the penalty threat, urged the CPA to instead allow higher allocations for loading empty containers onto outbound ships.

A large portion of imported goods arrive in containers, which are emptied and stored in port yards before a good number of them are moved to private ICDs. However, many ICDs are currently over capacity.

Congestion has been building since late June, when export volumes began to rise.

An executive at the local office of a foreign shipping line (MLO) said the CPA prioritised departing vessels carrying export cargo to clear berths quickly. As a result, many vessels with space were not allowed to stay longer to take empty containers, further compounding the problem.

In late July, the CPA gave priority berthing to three or four vessels to remove empties, but the effort fell short.

On July 30, the CPA's traffic director issued a circular reiterating the call for stakeholders to remove empties by August 7 or face quadrupled storage charges.

Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA) in a letter to the CPA on Wednesday said the responsibility of removal of empty containers from the port yards are under full jurisdiction of CPA.

The association urged the CPA to drop the higher rent plan and instead facilitate more empty container loading slots on outbound ships.

"Since the ICDs are also over occupied by empty containers they are unable to take in new ones," said BSAA leader Muntasir Rubayat.

Mentioning that almost 40 percent of empties are now at the overflow yard of NCT, and many are lying there for 20 to 30 days, Rubayat said, "Transfer of empties from overflow yard to the port yards for loading onto ships is not frequently done by the berth operators."

He said BSAA has repeatedly raised concerns regarding the prolonged dwelling of empties at the overflow yard.

As per current port regulations, store rent for empty containers is charged at $6 per TEU for the first 7 days, $12 per TEU from the 8th to the 20th day, and $24 per TEU per day thereafter.