Unloaded cargos clog Ctg depots

Some 4,000 covered vans, which were scheduled to unload export cargo at different Chattogram inland container depots before Eid-ul-Azha, are still waiting for unloading due to a rise in export goods backlog and a shortage of manpower during Eid, sector insiders said.

Besides, the closure of BM Container Depot, one of the largest of its kind, after a massive fire incident early last month also contributed to the cargo van pile-up that ultimately caused losses for exporters, particularly from the readymade garment sector.

"Our transportation costs quadrupled as covered vans failed to unload goods on time," Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told The Business Standard.

"Who will bear the additional cost? Similar incidents happen every year on Eid, but there has been no initiative to solve this problem."

He added that such a situation badly impacts the country's exports.

The number of cargo vans waiting to be unloaded before Eid was 5,000. On Tuesday, it decreased by 1,000, which means some 4,000 vans are still waiting, according to Bangladesh Covered Van Truck-Prime Mover Transport Owners Association Secretary-General Chowdhury Zafar Ahmed.

In normal times, exporters had to spend Tk15,000-16,000 to send a container of export goods to the depots, which amount has now increased to Tk50,000-60,000 due mainly to the prolonged wait for unloading, he told TBS.

"Besides, some vans have paid Tk3,000-6,000 in bribes to depot staffers for a fast unloading," Zafar Ahmed added. 

Talking to TBS, several covered van drivers said that they had been waiting there for the last 10-15 days, which was supposed to be just 8 hours.

Most of the covered vans are parked in an area of ​​7 km on the Patenga Outer Ring Road and about 5 km in the Kumira area of ​​the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.

The drivers said they also faced several unwanted incidents of snatching and theft while staying day and night in the vans.

"One of the reasons behind the backlog is the higher flow of containers [carried by the covered vans] than our capacity," Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association Secretary-General Ruhul Amin Sikder told TBS.

There are still about 38% more export containers than usual in the depots.

"Due to the Eid holidays, garment owners sent their export goods to the container depots long before their ships' schedule. Cargo vans are waiting outside the depots day after day, as a result," he added.

Ruhul Amin Sikder, however, was hopeful that the situation would return to normal within a week.

Out of 19 inland container depots in the port city of Chattogram, the largest five handle most export shipments.

"Brand buyers have designated depots for keeping their ordered products before shipping. Buyers are not interested in keeping goods in depots with poor logistics facilities. So the large depots feel the pressure," Khairul Alam Sujan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, told TBS.

He added that a lot of export goods used to be stored at BM Depot. "As it remained closed after the fire accident, the pressure on other large depots increased."

Meanwhile, three Singapore-bound ships left Chattogram Port on 6 July, leaving their pre-booked 277 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers as the authorities concerned failed to board the containers on the ships on time, according to the Chattogram Port.