A Swiss shipping agency will start operating large container vessels straight from the dock of Chattogram port to Barcelona and Rotterdam from next month, launching new and direct European routes for Bangladeshi exporters to ship their products in less time.
Earlier on Feb 24, Songa Cheetah, a 147.84 metre-long Liberian-flagged container ship, reached the Italian port on the Adriatic Sea, only 17 days after sailing from Chattogram port in first-ever direct shipping from Bangladesh to Europe.
Shipping agencies in Bangladesh have been using smaller freighters to carry containers to ports in Sri Lanka’s Colombo, Singapore, Port Kelang and Tanjung Pelepas from Chattogram port and load the containers onto larger mother vessels there.
The mother vessels then carry the said containers to the destination. This process usually takes 30-35 days.
However, with the introduction of allowing large container vessels to dock directly at the Chattogram port, stakeholders, especially apparel manufacturers, are hoping they can shave off almost half of the shipping time.
Reliance Shipping and Logistics Limited, or RSLL, which will act as the Bangladeshi agent of the Swiss freight forwarding service Commodity Supplies AG, will operate the services to Spain and the Netherlands using three large containers vessels- German-flagged MSC La Spezia, Cyprus-flagged Andromeda J, and Music which sails under the Portuguese flag.
Chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority, or CPA, Rear Admiral M Shahjahan confirmed the first such voyage is scheduled to leave the Chattogram dock on May 22.
He also confirmed that the CPA is currently negotiating with Portugal’s Leixões Port authority and the UAE’s Dubai Ports Authority to open similar services from the Chattogram dock.
While speaking to bdnews24.com, Mohammad Rashed, chairman of RSLL, said with this opportunity, exporters in Bangladesh can now budget their freight forwarding expenses and reduce the shipment time by almost half.
“It takes around 35 to 40 days for Bangladeshi containers to reach Barcelona shores via a transhipment port. Now, according to our estimate, it will take a maximum of 21 days,” he said.
BGMEA’s First Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam was excited about the prospects these direct routes are opening up, saying with this move, a long-standing demand from the local exporters is now being met.
“Long transit period and huge transhipment expenses have always been major issues for Bangladeshi exporters. Now, we hope to significantly reduce our operating costs. These will also open more doors for Bangladeshi exporters to do more business in Europe,” he said.