CHITTAGONG: The volume of country’s economy is increasing day by day with the setting up of new industries for meeting the demands of ever increasing population.
Side by side the economy of the country is getting stronger with the setting up of new economic zones.
Very naturally the export-import is also increasing. But in comparison to that the ‘lighter’ ships for carrying the raw materials to and fro at the outer anchorage are not increasing.
For this reason, the current crisis of lighter ships has become a matter of anxiety to the importers and foreign shipping line agents.
Chittagong Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CMCCI) director Abul Basar Chowdhury told Banglanews that the government should take immediate initiatives to build more ‘lighter’ ships to face the present crisis because the building of ships is time consuming.
Presently, stone, coal, maize and wheat-carrying ships are being imported. Coal and stone chips are new items but the volume is big.
He told Banglanews that the coal-based power stations at Rampal, Chittagong and Matarbari huge amount of coal will be required. Even for the brick kilns coal are also required. So, these requirements shall have to fulfill by lighter ships.
Simultaneously, there is possibility of deadlock at the outer anchorage due to heavy rush of a large number ships. If big ships stay at the anchorage then they are to give demurrage in huge amount as compensation which ultimately becomes burden on the consumers creating impact on country’s economy.
He also stressed on making modernization of lighter jetties.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) director Mahfuzul Haque Shah told Banglanews that few years age when there was global recession then the owners of lighter ships claimed that they did not get any goods to carry and demanded to stop building of new lighter ships.
But under the present government the volume of economy has turned huge and the imports of raw materials have also increased creating crisis of lighter ships. Moreover, the conditions of running lighter ships are not good at all. Many have become old and unfit for use and risky. A good number of ships have capsized in the sea.
According to Chittagong port sources, on October 5, there were 21 general cargo ships, 19 food grain-laden ships, 16 cement clinker-loaded ships, 6 sugar-carrying ships, five fertilizer-carrying ships and two salt-carrying ships at the outer anchorage. Of them, 34 ships were unloaded. At the main jetty, five general cargo ships containing limestone, scrap and coal were disposed off.
An official of lighter ships owned by an industrial unit informed Banglanews that on Wednesday 47 ships took berth but the demand of the importers were higher.
It may be mentioned here that these lighter ships are either owned by different industrial units or by individuals. The serial of the lighter ships are being maintained by WTC.
WTC executive director Mahbub Rashid Khan said the shortage of supplying lighter ships as a temporary one. According to him, many importers are using the lighters as go-downs. In this way about one thousand lighter ships are occupied for long time creating crisis in loading and unloading of cargoes.
“The number of lighter ships now we possess can release 3-crore tons of goods annually while in the last year we only dealt with 1.12-crore tons of goods,” he said.
But Naraj Seacom Shipping Lines Limited director Zahur Ahmed does not agree with the view that this is a temporary crisis. He told Banglanews that at present, huge development works are going on in the country. As a result huge amount of coal and stone and other materials are being imported regularly. If steps are not taken immediately to arrange new lighter ships then the crisis will be acute.
He further said that the stay time of mother vessels at the outer anchorage are increasing day by day. It is being observed as risky by the agents of the mother vessels. Many have expressed unwillingness to come here.
Bangladesh Lighterage Sramik Union general secretary Md. Nabi Alam told Banglanews that there are various types of lighter ships. There are ships which carry goods internally within the country with stone, cement clinker and fly ash. These can carry 400-600 tons of cargoes. At Chittagong Port there are three varieties of lighter ships. These are Tanker, Lighter and Boucher. There are about 1,300 lighter ships capable to function at the outer anchorage.
Outside these Bashundhara Groups, Shah Cement, Meghna Group, City Group, TK Oil, Premier Cement, Olympic Cement of Barisal, Akij Cement, Crown Cement, Seven Circle Cement of Ghorashal have their own lighter ships numbering about 350 ships. Even then the groups are hiring lighter ships from WTC.
BDST: 1835 HRS, OCT 06, 2016
Shahjahan/RR
