Ships await berths 10-15 days as Chittagong strife persists

CHITTAGONG port workers, port management and the government authorities are blaming each other for bringing near paralysis of Bangladesh's largest port of Chittagong.

Shipping lines are reported to be waiting 10 to 15 days for cargo discharge as dockers block private berths, halting container handling, which met with demands from terminal operators for tough government action against them.

Newly appointed private berth operators could not begin to handle containers because of attacks by dockers, reported the Dhaka Star, after leaders of Dock Bandar Sramik Karmachari Federation threatened stymie operations if private companies did not meet their demands.

Berth operator Everest Enterprise filed a complaint with Bandar Police Station after the attacks. Private Berth Operators Association president Fazle Ekram Chowdhury urged the government to take steps to ensure security at the port, alleging that union leaders were trying to control port activities.

The caretaker government seems impotent, and some administrators, unions and government officials have been accused of corruption, said an editorial in the Bangladesh Financial Express.

Since the operations of Chittagong Port is so important to the country's economy, these long-running disputes and controversial arguments on which party should be accountable for the malfunction have turned it into a political issue, it said.

The parliamentary committee on shipping blamed the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) for mismanagement and poor service. It recommended the formation of an advisory council to deal with the matters of port operations. Additionally, some call for CPA senior management and the country's shipping ministry to resign.

"Encouraging private sector operators with reputation and track record in the construction, management and operation of facilities related to the interface between maritime port development and inland transport to facilitate bulk movement of cargo is likely to have desired results," said the Bangladesh Financial Express.
(Source:www.schednet.com)