CPA to procure 2 tugboats

The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) signed an agreement on Monday with a Hong Kong company to buy two tugboats for over Tk145 crore to help in the safe berthing of ships and provide support in other work.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan and Chairman of E-Engineering, local agent for Cheoy Lee Shipyards, Tarafdar Md Ruhul Amin, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. 

Under the agreement, Hong Kong-based Cheoy Lee Shipyards will supply two high capacity tugboats to the CPA which are expected to join the port authority's fleet in June this year, a CPA release said Tuesday. 

The objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of the port to facilitate the anchoring of bigger ships, including the berthing and unberthing of big ships in greater numbers at the port jetties, to support ongoing projects in Chattogram, Maheshkhali and Kutubdia, and to augment cargo handling capacity.

With the addition of these two tugboats, the CPA will be able to achieve its objectives, including supporting operational activities at Matarbari terminal, the safe berthing and unberthing of big commercial ships, conducting oceanic and outer anchorage rescue operations, providing firefighting support to commercial vessels, and helping commercial ships in rough weather.