Notice! Foreign container ships are facing serious delays in loading at the port! Many shipping companies are affected

It is learned that foreign container ships calling at Chittagong face lengthy delays before loading containers at the port.

According to the Bangladesh Flag Vessels Protection Act 2019 and the recently implemented rules, Bangladeshi domestic vessels have priority when transporting containers into and out of Chittagong port.

Foreign ships can only load and unload Bangladeshi goods if there are no local ships at the port, or they must apply for an exemption certificate to the Bangladesh Commercial and Maritime Bureau 15 days before loading and unloading.

The exemption application will be submitted to Bangladesh Shipping Corp and Bangladesh Ocean Ship Owners Association (BOGSOA), both of which operate container and bulk carriers, to certify that they have no objection to foreign ships loading and unloading cargo. Subsequently, the Maritime Safety Administration issued an exemption certificate to the foreign ship. This certificate must be applied for every visit to Bangladesh.

However, operators have complained that many exemption certificates should have been issued within 72 hours of application,It now takes more than a week, causing delays.

Shipping trade officials said local shipping lines are in talks with foreign shipping lines to take some of their cargo by delaying the issuance of certificates as cargo volumes in and out of Bangladesh are down and the country’s local shipping lines have seen less volume.

It is reported that recently,Shipping companies such as HMM, COSCO, SeaCon Shipping, and Far Shipping have all been affected by the delay in the issuance of exemption certificates.

Syed Mohammad Arif, president of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, said he had received many complaints from members of the association that they had not obtained the exemption certificate in time. "I will take this issue to the top of the Ministry of Shipping," he said.

BOGSOA chairman Azam J Chowdhury acknowledged the delays and said the association would work with the Maritime Authority to find ways to expedite the process.

Captain Sabbir Mahmood, a key Maritime Authority official, said he would not allow BOGSOA to delay the issuance of exemption certificates.