Ctg port to start handling 10m-draught vessels tomorrow

The Chattogram port is now equipped to handle large container vessels, featuring 10-metre-drought and 200-metre-length, as the country's principal port is set to officially open its enhanced berthing capacity tomorrow.

Cargo ship Common Atlas, which is currently docked at the port's outer anchorage after bringing in Meghna Group's 60,500 tonnes raw Sugar import from Brazil on 10 January, is scheduled to be the first vessel to berth at Jetty 1 at the Chattogram Container Terminal.

The port's effort to enhance the berthing capacity will help boost its container handling as well as slash transport costs and turnaround times.

UK-based consultancy HR Wallingford has helped the port authority to find ways to accommodate larger ships. It revealed that if more dredging could be done at points of the outer anchorage, as well as some engineering works at the Gupta Khal area of the river, vessels of up to 225 metres, with an 11-metre draught, would also be able to berth.

A 200-metre-long vessel can transport more than 1,000 to 1,100 TEUS (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) containers depending on the size of the container ship with the capacity to carry 15,000-20,000 tonnes of goods.

"Berthing capacity expanding for 200-metre-long and 10 metre drought ships will be a new milestone. The port will issue a circular informing all shipping companies that the port is now ready to accommodate this class of ships," said secretary of Chattogram Port Authority Omar Faruq.

The port authority organised a program on 16 January morning on the occasion of the berthing capacity expansion. State Minister of the Ministry of Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury is scheduled to attend the event as the chief guest.

British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson is also expected to join the program.

Vice President of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association Khairul Alam Sujan said increased berthing capacity will enable the transportation of large quantities of containers and open cargo at the same time.

"It will also reduce the cost of importing and exporting products," he added.

Currently, only 9.5-metre draught vessels are able to anchor at the port jetty. These vessels carry 2,500 to 2,600 TEU containers.

But 10-metre draught ships will be able to carry 3,800 to 4,000 containers to the port, bumping up the port's container handling capacity by 1,000 to 1,100 TEUs per ship and bringing down the overall cargo handling costs.

Commander Arifur Rahman, chief hydrographer of the port Authority, pointed out that all the 18 jetties of the port will not have the capacity to handle bigger ships.

"The New Mooring Container Terminal and Chattogram Container Terminal will be able to accommodate 10-metre draught ships. In addition, some of the jetties of the General Cargo Berth (GCB) will be readied for anchoring such bigger ships," he added.