Container handling of Chattogram Port is gradually increasing following rise in its capacity through procurement of new equipments.
A total of 3,370 ships berthed at Chattogram seaport in 2017, while the number rose to 3,747 in 2018.
Besides, the stay time of ships at the port has decreased than the previous years. Stay time of the ships with imported containers dropped to maximum seven days last year, which was eight to nine days in 2017.
Presently, the off-dock container carrier ships are staying at Chattogram Port for 35 hours, while the export container carrier ships are leaving the port within an hour only.
The officials said Chattogram Port set up a new record in container handling last year. The port handled 26,67,000 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) of containers in 2017, and it rose by 13 percent to 29,03,000 TEUs in 2018. The port handled 245,324 TEUs in March 2018, a record high for any month.
Meanwhile, Chattogram Port has been ranked 70th in the Lloyd's List of the busiest seaports in the world this year. The port has moved one notch up than the previous year following rise in number of handled containers.
The London-based organisation prepared the list on the basis of total throughput of containers at seaports in 2017. In the list, Shanghai Port of China and Singapore Port have been ranked first and second respectively.
The users of Chattogram Port opined that the port could earn a better position, if its potentials were fully utilised.
The seaport is gradually progressing due to various development activities, undertaken by the government, according to officials of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
During the tenure of the incumbent government, the port is being developed by procuring new equipments and constructing new terminals etc.
The government procured a total of 60 equipments in 2018 for Chattogram Port from China, including there ship-to-shore (S-to-S) gantry cranes, six rail-mounted quay gantry cranes (QGC), and straddle carriers. The seaport got 51 new equipments in 2017.
Officials said cargo handling and efficiency of Chattogram seaport will increase further for introducing new and fast rail-mounted QGCs in its 132-year history.
The cranes are able to load and unload containers on and off two daily trains that run from Chattogram to Kamalapur Inland Container Terminal in the capital, in four hours, they added.
Omar Faruk, the CPA Secretary, said, "Chattogram Port obtained 70th position among the 100 busiest ports of the world, which was once 87th. As the port is gradually handling an increased volume of containers, its position is improving than the previous years."
"Implementation of a number of projects has increased the port's capacity, and procurement of updated equipments has helped it to break all previous records of container handling."
"The CPA has introduced strict limit on how long a ship can remain in the port, aiming at quicker loading and unloading of containers to reduce congestion and improve productivity," he added.
Rear Admiral Zulfikar Aziz, the CPA Chairman, said, "Chattogram Port will be made more user-friendly for the users within the current year in line with Vision 2021 of the incumbent government."
"Handling of an increased number of containers is a big challenge for the CPA now. We have already taken many plans - short-term, mid-term and long-term - for making Chattogram Port an updated one to meet the challenges of future."
Terming Chattogram Port as the nerve of the national economy, he urged all stakeholders concerned to cooperate for ensuring its smooth operation.
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