Inland cargo transport at risk as lighters starved of fuel

Lighter vessels are facing fuel shortages that are slowing and disrupting their regular operations to unload cargo from mother ships at Chattogram port’s outer anchorage.

Besides, smaller vessels that have managed to unload cargo from mother vessels cannot head to around 50 inland destinations across the country, as fuel supplies remain insufficient.

If the situation does not improve, unloading from Chattogram-bound mother vessels could grind to a halt, according to the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell (BWTCC).

BWTCC, the central organisation responsible for coordinating bulk cargo across inland waterways, sent a letter to the finance minister on Monday.

The cell said it earlier wrote to the secretary of the power, energy and mineral resources ministry, urging uninterrupted fuel supplies. But day-to-day operations continue to face severe shortages.

“State-owned fuel suppliers Padma, Meghna and Jamuna have repeatedly failed to provide enough diesel to marine dealers,” the cell’s Convener Shafiq Ahmad wrote in the letter to the finance minister.

“Due to the shortage of fuel, lighter vessels are unable to regularly load cargo from mother vessels or even transport loaded cargo,” he mentioned.

Ahmad added that lighter vessels are waiting for long periods to reach the outer anchorage for unloading import cargo, while many with loaded cargo are unable to depart for their destinations.

Around 1,400 lighter vessels move import cargo from the outer anchorage to more than 50 destinations across Bangladesh’s inland waterways. BWTCC supervises around 1,050 of the vessels, while industrial groups own the remaining 350.

BWTCC is responsible for allocating lighter vessels to unload cargo from at least 55 of these ships. Ahmad said the cell usually assigns 70 to 80 lighters per day for cargo operations. These vessels collectively require over 3.50 lakh litres of diesel, but only 10 percent of the demand is being met.

“The fuel shortage is so severe that BWTCC cannot even hold its regular berthing meetings,” he added.

Currently, about 80 mother vessels remain at the port’s outer anchorage and Kutubdia anchorage in the Bay of Bengal. Most are carrying imported wheat, other food grains, fertiliser and industrial raw materials.

Among the mother ships, MV Pan Sapphire arrived at Kutubdia anchorage on March 23 carrying 60,000 tonnes of wheat.

Sarwar Alam Sagar, director of ship’s handling firm Aryan Stevedor, said the vessel was scheduled to reach the port’s outer anchorage within three days after unloading 15,000 tonnes at Kutubdia.

“But in the past eight days, it has only managed to unload 12,000 tonnes because there are not enough lighter vessels to service it due to fuel shortages,” Sagar said.

Parvez Ahmed, a BWTCC leader and proprietor of Mutual Shipping, said at least seven of their loaded lighter vessels had to wait six to eight days before departing for their destinations because diesel supplies are inadequate.

Meanwhile, BWTCC Convener Ahmad said a Dhaka-bound lighter vessel needs 3,500-4,000 litres of diesel for a round trip from Chattogram.

“Unlike the highway, there are no refuelling pumps on the waterways. That is why a vessel needs the full volume of fuel before starting the trip. But suppliers are only providing 500-600 litres,” he said.

He further said that delays in cargo transport could disrupt supply chains and ultimately push up product prices.