Shipping agents alarmed as Service Level Agreement omitted from meeting agenda on berth charge hike
According to BCSA, the Ministry of Shipping had convened a meeting on 6 May 2025 to resolve the deadlock between berth operators and shipping agents over a sharp increase in berth handling (onboard container handling) charges
A fresh dispute has emerged between berth operators and shipping agents over the Service Level Agreement (SLA) following the decision to increase berth handling charges (on-board container handling charge) at Chattogram Port.
Although the SLA was reportedly agreed upon during a meeting at the Ministry of Shipping, shipping agents have expressed concern that the decision was not documented in the official meeting minutes.
On 7 July, the Bangladesh Container Shipping Association (BCSA) sent a letter to Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, requesting that the SLA decision be formally included in the meeting records.
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According to BCSA, the Ministry of Shipping had convened a meeting on 6 May 2025 to resolve the deadlock between berth operators and shipping agents over a sharp increase in berth handling (onboard container handling) charges.
The meeting, chaired by Adviser Sakhawat, concluded with an agreement to introduce an SLA between berth operators and shipping agents to ensure service accountability and performance standards.
The adviser also endorsed the SLA proposal and tasked the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) chairman with overseeing its implementation.
However, controversy erupted when the ministry published the official meeting minutes on 17 May, which mentioned the decision to raise the handling charge but omitted any reference to the SLA agreement.
This has caused frustration and uncertainty among shipping agents who had agreed to the charge increase based on the promise of improved service standards through a formal SLA.
The Ministry of Shipping decided to increase the on-board container handling charge for vessels at the General Cargo Berth (GCB) area of Chattogram Port by Tk175, during a tripartite meeting involving representatives from the ministry, shipping agents, and berth operators.
BCSA Chairman Fayyaz Khundker told TBS that on 14 May, the association submitted a detailed draft SLA to the CPA chairman.
However, the ministry's failure to reflect the SLA in the official minutes, despite including the rate increase, has left stakeholders feeling misled, Fayyaz said.
"The absence of a Service Level Agreement represents a major institutional gap," Fayyaz added, saying, "Berth, terminal, and ship handling operators operate with funding from shipping agents, yet there is no effective agreement in place. When service failures occur, there is no accountability or compensation."
When contacted, Joint Secretary of the Ports Division (Chittagong Port) Munshi Md Moniruzzaman declined to comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, chairman of the Berth Operators Association for the GCB area of Chattogram Port, said, "Although the Ministry of Shipping approved an increase in the berth handling charge on 6 May, I am not aware of any decision regarding an SLA.
