Some very pertinent questions have arisen out of an evaluation of how the Chittagong port had fared in the outgoing year. They spell out lessons for the on-going year. But is there any end to the learning curve in regard to an overly familiar issue which could only breed contempt by recurrence? Hence, perhaps, we need to go beyond 'learning' given our uncanny genius to unlearn as soon as we are finished with them--verbally! We have to act on the problem-specific recipe of the last year's stocktaking for a direly needed turn-around. No mistaking that!
A prominent Bangla daily headlined on January 20, "A year of deficiency costs TK 1195 crore" whilst referring to the twin lighter ship-jetty crisis at Chittagong port. This, we assume, implied a plea made to all concerned for a resolute remedial action to avert a similar port dysfunction in 2018.
True, Chittagong port has some structural deficiencies like dependence on outer anchorage far out into the sea, shortage of jetties jutting out closer to the ships to call at the port. The ships have to dock 16 km away into high seas and those without containers have to be off-loaded through lighter ships. Yet, how much of the port's nagging underperformance is man-made and how much of it is infrastructural? This will have to be ascertained in the first place in order that an unambiguous problem- solving approach can be adopted. Factors like habitually shorter man-hours, poor decision-making or lack of timely intervention on the part of the authority in matching the already increasing and, of course, the projected loads on the port.
It cannot be lost on any observer of the scenario that port functions/dysfunctions tend to express themselves in measureable terms of lost hours, days and foreign exchange drained away in compensation payments. Besides, there's an inherently important consideration to bear in mind which is that of vastly improving port functions to maintain reasonable competitiveness in relation to other ports of the region. This is for our own sake, but add to it the expressed wish of some sub-regional countries to have access to our ports.
Last year, some 743 ships were stationed/stranded in the port ten days more than the stipulated time span. As per the contract with a foreign shipping company, a ship on entering maritime waters of Chittagong port, has to be cleared of commodities at the rate of 3,000 tonnes per day on an average. If the lighter ships fail to download within the stipulated time, depending on the category of ship, the importer has to pay between 10 and 16 thousand dollars as compensation for each day of delay incurred.
Important port users argue that with the amount of foreign exchange we are draining away through lack of jetties we could have built two-three new terminals every year. Another business group rued that the money that the importers are having to cough up in compensation for the delay would have enabled purchase of 250 new lighter ships a year!
The process of off-loading and clearance of goods is pretty long; the hauling of the merchandise from the ship through cranes on to the lighter ship is the first crucial step. This then would be followed up by the lighter ships berthing along 39 inland ports including those in Chittagong, Dhaka and Narayangong to be emptied out.
The bottom line is it can lose all the way because any dislocation in the chain in terms of keeping to a time-line at the start will have disruptive effect all along the process. This will not only increase the unease and cost of doing business, at the end of the day , the brunt will also be passed on to the consumers who will have to pay higher prices for no fault of their own.