India is holding another trial run of its ships this week using Chittagong Port - to check readiness for starting regular transhipment of cargoes to and from Kolkata and the north-eastern states using Bangladeshi ports, officials said.
Under the fresh round of trial run, a vessel - Trans Samudera - carrying an Indian transit container is scheduled to leave Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port in Kolkata on August 31, and is expected to reach Chittagong Port within three to four days of sailing. The container will be loaded with 25 tonnes of TMT bar from Tata Steel.
After releasing the container in Chittagong Port, it will be sent to Indian state of Assam using Sheola land-port in Sylhet.
A return trial movement of containers using Chittagong Port towards Kolkata will be held within a few days using Tamabil land customs (LC) station, located in Gowainghat of Sylhet.
An empty container for the trial movement will be transported to Dawki LC station of Indian state of Meghalaya through Tamabil LC station.
Return cargo will then be loaded in the container at Dawki LC station, and will be transported to Chittagong Port through Tamabil LC station for further shipment to its final destination in Kolkata.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka - in a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Shipping this week - requested to provide necessary support by the ministries and departments concerned to hold the trial run successfully.
The high commission sought arrangements for handling and clearing containers at Chittagong Port, Tamabil and Sheola LC stations, and priority berthing for the coastal vessels/barges at Chittagong Port.
Also, the high commission sought assistance for issuance of necessary notifications, including customs permission for the vessel, to carry transit containers along with ExIm containers bound for Bangladesh, and movement of Bangladeshi trucks/trailers up to Sutarkandi in Assam and Dawki in Meghalaya.
Earlier this month India also held another trial run using Mongla Port, under which one container was transported to Meghalaya using the Tamabil-Dawki route and another to Tripura through Bibir Bazar-Srimantapur LC stations.
These trial runs were held under an agreement on use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India. It was signed between the two neighbours in October 2018, mainly to provide transit facility to India to carry goods to its north-eastern states.
Thereafter, the first trial run under the deal was conducted in July 2020 with four containers loaded with iron rods and pulses - transported from Haldia Port in Kolkata to Chittagong Port.
Later, they were sent to Tripura and Assam by road using Akhaura land-port.
Officials say India is now showing eagerness to start regular use of Chittagong and Mongla ports as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Bangladesh wants to begin regular use of the ports by India, once all the requisite procedures are completed.
India is eager to conduct regular transit, as its vehicles need to travel over 1,650 kilometres to transport goods from Kolkata to Agartala through Guwahati in the landlocked north.
If goods are transported using Chittagong and Mongla ports, the travel distance is cut down to a few hundred kilometres, lowering required time and transportation costs.
Meanwhile, our Chittagong correspondent adds, a vessel - MV Senjuti - will arrive at Chittagong Port today (Tuesday) with transshipment cargoes from Kolkata Port, according to the port officials.
The MV Senjuti will berth at jetty number-1 of the port's New-mooring Container Terminal (NCT). The same vessel came to the port in July 2020 in the first trial run.
syful-islam@outlook.com