Ships depart, cargo operation in full swing as Ctg port starts clearing containers

Highlights:

• 15,000 export containers piled up across ICDs
• Ctg port yard was holding over 41,000 containers
• Ctg port aimed at dispatching 6,000-7,000 containers
• Nearly 2,000 trucks carrying goods were stranded near Benapole port
• Govt lost an estimated Tk50 crore in revenue due to the two-day halt

Five ships, including the ones stuck in the previous two days' customs strike, yesterday departed the Chattogram Port for global destinations such as Singapore and Colombo as revenue officials ended their shutdown and port activities resumed in full swing.

The country's prime port was scheduled to dispatch between 6,000 and 7,000 containers.

At 8pm tonight (30 June), long queues of prime movers, trucks, and covered vans were seen at the JCB, NCT, and CCT gates of the port. Hundreds of these vehicles were waiting to collect container deliveries at Chattogram Port gates and on the adjacent roads.

After the National Board of Revenue officials called off their strike on Sunday night, customs operations resumed at both the port and ICDs. Activities such as bill of entry processing and customs assessment for import and export goods are now fully active.

Chattogram Custom House Deputy Commissioner Saidul Islam stated, "We are working to quickly complete the assessment of pending import consignments and expect to clear the backlog by Monday."

A severe container congestion has gripped the port and Inland Container Depots (ICDs) as nearly 15,000 export containers were piled up across the ICDs, while the port yard was holding over 41,000 containers as of yesterday morning, far exceeding its optimal capacity.

Due to continued backlogs, around 50 export containers could not be loaded in time.

Officials estimate that it will take at least a week to restore normalcy.

Meanwhile, former secretary general of the Chattogram C&F Agents Association, Kazi Mahmud Imam Bilu, told TBS that due to the recent programme by customs officials, the customs clearance of at least 3,000 import consignments has been delayed.

"It will take at least three more days to complete the assessment and clearance of the backlog," he said.

Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruk said, "The port remains open 24/7, and container delivery has normalized since Monday. We expect the backlog to be cleared within a few days."

Benapole port resumes operations

The withdrawal of the strike brought back normalcy to the Benapole port area with nearly 4,000 handling workers returning to work. 

Customs and port officials have reportedly been facing pressure to clear the backlog of goods and complete customs formalities.

Benapole Port Director Shamim Hossain said they resumed trade between Bangladesh and India.

Mohsin Milan, president of the Benapole Port Importers-Exporters Association, said the port remained closed for the past two days due to the "March to NBR" programme.

"Following the withdrawal of the shutdown on Sunday night, cargo delivery restarted on Monday morning," he said.

Nearly 2,000 trucks carrying goods from both countries were stranded near the port during the suspension. The government lost an estimated Tk50 crore in revenue due to the two-day halt.

Officials have been instructed to work overtime to recover revenue losses.