News / Chittagong offers incentives to clear backlog of empty containers

Chittagong Port Authority is offering priority berthing for ships collecting empty containers, as it looks to contend with a build-up of some 6,794 teu in storage, well above the 5,500 teu limit.

This latest incentive allows ships to avoid berthing delays of three to six days and follows port authority threats to increase storage fees for empties by 400% – a move which prompted carriers to send in vessels to collect them and relieve the backlog.

Port authority spokesperson Mohammad Omar Faruk told The Loadstar: “We’re asking all concerned to lower the number of empty boxes from the port yards to avoid penalty.”

He noted that importers also had a role to play, adding that if they took boxes “in full swing” on Fridays and Saturdays, the number of stored empties would go down significantly.

As this story went to press, 11 containerships have been waiting at anchorage outside Chittagong for up to a week, with yard usage at 45,000 teu, close to its 53,000 teu capacity.

Shipping agents told The Loadstar some carriers had been working to relieve the backlog sending in ships that had waited just two days for a berthing space to collect empty boxes.

Syed Mohammad Arif, chair of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, welcomed the priority berthing initiative. He told The Loadstar: “It’s a policy that is very useful at this moment, and we urge more measures to lessen box stocks, with improvements being made day by day.”

However, he warned against the port authority’s decision to quadruple the rental rates on empties.

“Instead we urge it to permit greater allocations for empty container loading on outbound vessels. This approach will not only aid in clearing the backlog, but also foster a more cooperative and effective resolution of the congestion issue,” added Mr Arif.