Ctg Port to break 128-year tradition

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is going to allot one of its jetties exclusively to a foreign container feeder operator, breaking a 128-year-old "first come, first serve" tradition.
On Monday, the CPA chairman signed a deal with Singapore-based Orient Express Lines (OEL), a container feeder vessel operator, providng an exclusive right of use of New Mooring Container Terminal to the company on a trial basis.
However, it would take some time for the deal to be effective on a long-lasting basis, said the authorities concerned.
This deal is facing strong opposition and criticism from other operators and agents concerned. Shipping Agents Association, Jetty Operators' Association, Ship Handling Operators and Terminal Operators Owners' Association have sent a letter to the CPA expressing their reservations about the move before the deal was finally inked.
According to the agreement, the vessels of OEL will be the first on the line for berthing at the particular jetty even if the vessels of 11 other container feeder operators enter the area first. They will be able to berth only if the vessels of OEL are not around the jetty.
The port chairman, Rear Admiral Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed, said this deal would only be effective after all the jetties of the port are operational. "After the deal is implemented, vessels of other feeder operators would also be able to berth at that jetty when OEL vessels are not around," he said.
The port authority reserves the right to cancel the deal any time they wish or it is deemed necessary, he added.
Currently, 12 container feeder operators run their 44 vessels between Chittagong and Singapore, Colombo and Malaysia. These vessels berth at 10 operating container jetties. Sometimes the vessels have to berth at outer anchorage due to space constraint.
Once the plan is implemented, OEL will pay the jetty tariff to the port even when their vessels are not in the port. The OEL ship do not have to wait in the outer anchorage. However, waiting in the outer anchorage is much more costly than payong the port authorities tariff. It costs around $8,000 to $10,000 for a container feeder to wait idle in the outer anchorage while the cost of port tariff is about $1,000.
Ahsanul Haque Chowdhury, senior vice president of Shipping aggents association, said, "The first come, first serve' policy has been followed by the port for 128 years. The new deal will cause a lot of disruptions in the traffic of container feeders."
A port operated by the government should provide equal facilities to everyone, he insisted.
The Berth Operator's Association's chief Fazle Ekram Chowdhury said, "We expressed our dissenting views in a letter. If a particular operator is given exclusive right, an unhealthy competition among the operators will began, which might affect the employment of workers of other jetties as well."