Two-day strike brings water transportation to a standstill
Highlights:
- 87 cargo ships remain idle at Ctg port
- Average daily rent per ship is $20,000
- Their $3.48m rent for 2 days goes useless
- 738 lighter ships stay inoperative at 57 ports
- Transportation of 1.5 million tonnes of goods remains halted
The two-day strike by water transport workers, triggered by the murder of seven lighter ship workers in Chandpur, caused severe disruptions to the country's supply chain and industrial production.
The two-day work stoppage, which began early Friday, brought the transportation of goods from the country's largest seaport to a standstill.
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Consequently, 87 cargo ships had to incur huge financial losses for remaining idle at the outer anchorage outside Chittagong port, while hundreds of lighter ships remained idle in the country's waterways.
According to data from the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell (BWTCC), 738 lighter ships carrying 1.01 million tonnes of imported goods remained stranded at 57 ports across the country. Combined with the backlog at Chattogram Port, the total volume of goods awaiting transportation was approximately 1.5 million tonnes.
The murder of seven lighter vessel workers is truly a tragic incident. However, halting the transport of goods on the country's waterways in response to this is nothing short of anarchy.
This backlog includes crucial industrial raw materials, such as cement clinker, scrap metal and fertilisers and essential consumer goods like food grains, sugar and oil. The stoppage also affected industrial plants' private transportation of goods, further threatening production schedules.
Businesses term such strikes mindless. They argue that water transport workers should pursue their demands through dialogue and negotiation rather than resorting to strikes, which have a significant financial impact.
Seacom Group Chairman Mohammed Amirul Haque told TBS, "The murder of seven lighter vessel workers is truly a tragic incident. However, halting the transport of goods on the country's waterways in response to this is nothing short of anarchy."
He added, "The Bangladesh Water Transport Workers' Federation, a group backed by Shahjahan Khan, former shipping minister in the previous Awami League government, has disrupted waterways transportation, including operations at Chattogram Port, seemingly to embarrass the current interim government."
Amirul Haque said the strike caused severe disruptions to industrial production by obstructing the supply of essential raw materials. "The supply of consumer goods will be hit the hardest. If the work stoppage is not withdrawn promptly, it will not only lead to shortages in the market but could also drive up prices," he said yesterday.
The disruption has caused significant financial losses on importers, who must pay hefty demurrage charges for idle ships, the Seacom Group chairman said.
According to Chattogram Port data, the 87 stranded ships at the port's outer anchorage incur daily rent ranging from $15,000 to $30,000, with an average of $20,000 per ship. This amounts to a daily demurrage of $1.74 million, and the two-day stoppage has resulted in a total demurrage cost of $3.48 million.
Syed Md Arif, president of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association and managing director of ABC Shipping, said the importers would have to bear the demurrage costs incurred by the ships due to the halt in unloading at the outer anchorage. This may impact the prices of the imported goods, particularly food products.
Chittagong Port handles three main types of cargo ships: container ships (45%), bulk carrier ships (45%) and liquid cargo ships (10%). About 75% of open cargo arriving at the port is transferred to lighter vessels at the outer anchorage for transportation to other destinations. Liquid cargo such as fuel oil, edible oil and LPG is typically discharged at the outer anchorage or the Dolphin Oil Jetty.
Parvez Ahmed, spokesperson for the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chattogram, said at least 30 lighter ships load goods from mother vessels every day at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port. "Each ship loads an average of 6,000 tonnes, totalling 180,000 tonnes of goods. Some 360,000 tonnes of goods could not be unloaded from the mother vessels this Friday and Saturday," he added.
Parvez Ahmed added, "With the mother vessels remaining idle, each will incur a demurrage cost of $20,000 per day. The sooner the strike by the lighter ship workers is withdrawn or suspended, the better it will be for the country's economy."
Around 200 vessels, including oil tanker lighter vessels, operate daily from Chattogram Port to 34 domestic routes.
Nabi Alam, Joint General Secretary of the Bangladesh Water Transport Workers Federation, said, "In the past, there have been meetings before strikes. The current government has not held any meetings. A meeting could have been held on Friday to address the country's needs. The workers are angry and will not withdraw the strike without a meeting."
The tragedy unfolded last Monday when the Coast Guard and river police recovered the bodies of five crew members and rescued three others with critical injuries from MV Al-Bakhera, which was going to Sirajganj from Chattogram with fertiliser.
Two of the injured later died at Chandpur General Hospital. The eighth crew member remains under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
