Shipping agents call for revision, phased rollout of Ctg port tariff

Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Association (BSAA) has urged the government to reconsider the newly imposed Chattogram Port tariff and its implementation timeline, saying the sharp increase and abrupt rollout would severely hurt trade competitiveness and the country's economy.

In a letter sent yesterday to the senior secretary of the shipping ministry and the chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the trade body described the tariff hike — communicated through a statutory regulatory order on September 14 — as "unprecedented and commercially unsustainable".

According to the letter, signed by BSAA Chairman Syed Mohammad Arif, the new tariff came into effect on September 15, just a day after the official notice, leaving stakeholders with virtually no time to adjust.

Although the port authority later deferred its implementation to October 15, BSAA termed the one-month extension "wholly inadequate," arguing that global shipping contracts and budgets are usually set months or even a year in advance.

Citing examples from the revised schedule, the association said the tug hire charge for a 190-metre vessel has jumped from $2,907 to $15,709 — an increase of more than 500 percent.

It further claimed that the overall tariff revision reflects an average 70 percent hike across major service categories.

"Such a drastic hike is unprecedented and commercially unsustainable for both national and international shipping lines," the letter reads. "It poses a significant threat to the competitiveness of Chittagong Port and the national economy."

The association warned that the new rates would lead to a loss of competitiveness as foreign principals could divert vessels to other regional ports, inflating the cost of imports and making Bangladeshi exports less competitive.

The letter also noted that foreign principals of local agents have already raised objections to the revised tariff.

BSAA argued that since many of CPA's tariff items are in US dollars, their effective rates have automatically increased over the decades due to currency depreciation.

"Enhancement of CPA tariff is therefore an automated process," it said.

The trade body urged the authorities to limit the tariff increase to between 10 and 15 percent compared to the 1986 rates, as it had proposed earlier, and to implement any changes in a phased manner over six to twelve months.