Bangladesh bound cargo stuck at Indian port

Over 3,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of import-laden containers bound for Bangladesh are stranded at the Krishnapatnam port as the two sole vessels no longer had permission to berth at the Chattogram port.

The permission expired last March and the feeder vessels’ operator has not applied for a renewal, said officials of Chittagong Port Authority. SSL Kochi and SSL Kutch were floated on the Chattogram-Krishnapatnam route in February last year by the Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, a concern of Transworld Feeders.

It came against the backdrop of prospects created through the launching of a Southeast India-Europe Express service by several leading shipping lines on the Krishnapatnam-Chennai-Colombo-Europe route.

Officials of Karnaphuli, the Shreyas’ local agent, said they applied to ply the two on the route in October 2019 and got the CPA’s permission in January 2020. But on March 2, 2020, the CPA in a letter informed the permission was for only two months.

Karnaphuli says they ran at least two round trips every month. Though there was a lack of cargo at the beginning, the Indian port later became an alternative for many carriers due to acute congestion at the four popular transhipment ports of Colombo, Singapore, Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas.

An official of Karnaphuli said they already sent a letter to the CPA on August 2 seeking permission for regular vessel operations but were yet to get a response.