Ports hit over political turmoil

Chittagong/Mongla: The blockade enforced by the Awami League-led combine paralysed the country’s main seaports of Chittagong and Mongla on Sunday, the first day of the countrywide indefinite siege, port and shipping officials said.

Delivery of goods to and from Chittagong port, already plagued by a severe congestion of ships and containers, remained suspended as trucks were not plying due to blockade, they said.

‘Operational activities came to a halt barring a little cargo handling at the port jetties. Fearing attacks by demonstrators no consignees came to take delivery of containers,’ said the Chairman of Chittagong Port Aauthority, Shahadat Hossain.

‘Even after assurance of police escort, nobody came to take delivery of containers from the port as there was no traffic on Dhaka-Chittagong highway and other long routes,’ he added.

Witnesses said barricades were put up by demonstrators outside the port to block movement of cargo to and from Chittagong port.

Thousands of trucks that used to carry goods to and from port jetties, stayed off roads, port sources said.

Officials said that 63 cargo vessels including 20 container ships remained stranded at the jetties and outer anchorage of Chittagong port.

Besides, over 18,000 containers piled up at port yards due to non-delivery, they said.

Local representative of the Singapore-based association of feeder ship operators, Chittagong Feeder Trade Committee, Shahed Chowdhury, said: ‘We are very much worried as the situation at Chittagong port has turned alarming.’

Foreign feeder ship operators are also deeply concerned about the losses they would incur due to disruption in port activities, he said adding: ‘The feeder operators may go for either hiking freights on Chittagong-bound cargoes or reducing the number voyages’.

Former vice-president of BGMEA, Ershad Ullah said, ‘The stalemate threatens our exports. Many buyers may divert their orders from Bangladesh to other countries due to the crisis’.

‘Huge imported raw materials remain stacked at the port which in the long run may turn some local industries sick,’ he feared.

Operational activities at Mongla, the country’s second seaport, came to a halt on Sunday as the port workers decided to abstain from work in support of the AL-led combine’s countrywide blockade.

The port, however, does not have any ship at the moment, said Mongla Port Authority Chairman, Abu Taher on Sunday, claiming that the port was operating as usual.