Local agent of foreign ship penalised
A Bangladeshi agent of a foreign shipping company was penalised for the first time for loading and carrying goods to a Bangladeshi seaport without a waiver certificate, thus violating the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection) Act 2019.
The Mercantile Marine Office (MMO) on Monday, realised a Tk5 lakh penalty fine from Conveyor Shipping Lines, an agent of the MV BBC Peru flying an Antigua Barbuda Flag.
According to the MMO, the vessel MV Peru transported goods without a waiver certificate. When the local agent was served a show-cause notice on 29 November, they could not give a satisfactory answer. The agent was supposed to pay the penalty in November but finally paid it on 27 December.
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According to sources, Bangladesh has a protectionist policy requiring mandatory transportation of 40-50% of all inward and outward cargo on Bangladesh flag vessels applying Flag Protection laws. The Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection) Ordinance, 1982 got repealed and the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act 2019 was passed.
This law mandates that Bangladeshi flag vessels carry at least 50% of the country's seaborne foreign trade cargo, and all government public sector goods are to be transported by Bangladesh flag vessels.
The law requires any container vessels calling at any Bangladesh seaport to obtain a waiver certificate from the MMO, 15 days before loading or unloading cargo at the port.
MMO principal officer Captain Gias Uddin Ahmed told TBS that a Bangladeshi agent of a foreign shipping company has been fined for the first time for violating the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection of Interest) Act 2019.
Conveyor Shipping Lines Senior Manager Lokman Hossain said the MMO imposed this penalty for not obtaining a waiver certificate while transporting goods from Belgium to Mongla Port.
"We paid the fine on 27 December although the incident is from four months ago. But the rule under the flag protection law to obtain a waiver certificate 15 days before the ship leaves the port should be revisited," he said.
