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Chittagong port faces congestion as holiday impedes flow of workers
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2020/04/09 09:41:20
BANGLADESH's port of Chittagong is facing heavy congestion in its yard as the 10-day national holiday ordered between March 26 and April 4 has prevented workers from leaving their homes and suspended all commercial activities, barring the emergency services.
Chittagong is continuing operations amid the virtual lockdown in an attempt to avoid vessel congestion and the creation of a shortage of essential goods in the domestic market, reported UK's The Loadstar.
However, Bangladesh Customs is releasing only essential commodities, such as food grains, pharmaceuticals and coronavirus prevention-related materials from the port yard, as only a limited number of its officials are still working.
As a result, the port has massive congestion in its yard: some 40,469 TEU of containers remain in the area, against its total capacity of some 49,000 TEU.
However, the customs authority said it was planning to "engage its full manpower so it can release all types of containers from the port yard to lower congestion".
The government has also doubled rail cargo capacity on the Chittagong-Dhaka-Chittagong route to ensure a smooth supply of essential goods from the port. Usually, three to four cargo trains operate on the route daily, this has now gone up to six to eight.
Bangladesh Railways eastern region official Omar Faruk said that while passenger train services remained suspended throughout the country, cargo trains were running smoothly, without any delays, and carrying an increased number of containers from the port.
Exporters, however, are facing increasing numbers of cancelled orders. Most of the 4,000 apparel factories, except those which still have orders, have been closed to avoid the spread of the coronavirus among the four million garment workers, the majority of which are female.
But as the virus spreads, and shows no sign of weakening, dozens of buyers have either cut or suspended orders for millions of pieces of apparel items, worth US$3 billion, so far.
Senior vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Mohammad Hatem told The Loadstar knitwear makers were facing order cuts of close to $1 billion.
"But we are keeping factories closed as part of an effort to contain the spread of the virus," he said. The government has declared a BDT50 billion (US$589 million) bailout package to help the export-oriented sectors to cope with the fallout of the Covid-19.
The government has also blocked shore passes for all vessel crews from abroad. Crew changing has also been suspended for an indefinite period. If any crew needs to go home for an emergency, they must first undergo a 14 day-isolation period.
Early last week, the government suspended issuing 'no objection' certificates for vessels coming in for dismantling, also until April 7. Five such vessels were sent to deepsea isolation for two weeks.
Chittagong is continuing operations amid the virtual lockdown in an attempt to avoid vessel congestion and the creation of a shortage of essential goods in the domestic market, reported UK's The Loadstar.
However, Bangladesh Customs is releasing only essential commodities, such as food grains, pharmaceuticals and coronavirus prevention-related materials from the port yard, as only a limited number of its officials are still working.
As a result, the port has massive congestion in its yard: some 40,469 TEU of containers remain in the area, against its total capacity of some 49,000 TEU.
However, the customs authority said it was planning to "engage its full manpower so it can release all types of containers from the port yard to lower congestion".
The government has also doubled rail cargo capacity on the Chittagong-Dhaka-Chittagong route to ensure a smooth supply of essential goods from the port. Usually, three to four cargo trains operate on the route daily, this has now gone up to six to eight.
Bangladesh Railways eastern region official Omar Faruk said that while passenger train services remained suspended throughout the country, cargo trains were running smoothly, without any delays, and carrying an increased number of containers from the port.
Exporters, however, are facing increasing numbers of cancelled orders. Most of the 4,000 apparel factories, except those which still have orders, have been closed to avoid the spread of the coronavirus among the four million garment workers, the majority of which are female.
But as the virus spreads, and shows no sign of weakening, dozens of buyers have either cut or suspended orders for millions of pieces of apparel items, worth US$3 billion, so far.
Senior vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Mohammad Hatem told The Loadstar knitwear makers were facing order cuts of close to $1 billion.
"But we are keeping factories closed as part of an effort to contain the spread of the virus," he said. The government has declared a BDT50 billion (US$589 million) bailout package to help the export-oriented sectors to cope with the fallout of the Covid-19.
The government has also blocked shore passes for all vessel crews from abroad. Crew changing has also been suspended for an indefinite period. If any crew needs to go home for an emergency, they must first undergo a 14 day-isolation period.
Early last week, the government suspended issuing 'no objection' certificates for vessels coming in for dismantling, also until April 7. Five such vessels were sent to deepsea isolation for two weeks.