23/03/2015
Ctg-Kolkata direct shipment started
Ref-Bangla Apparel Desk, March 22, 2015
Direct shipment of containerised cargos between Chittagong and Kolkata ports has launched recently.
A locally-made vessel MV Rodella left on March 20 for the Kolkata port carrying 120 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) of containers. It reached the destination the next day.
With the launch of the direct service between the two ports, Prantik Marine, a local ship-builder and operator, emerges as a new container feeder operator.
According to Shipping department, a letter seeking permission from the Indian authority was sent for an experimental shipment through the route. As the Indian authority has been taking long time to response, Prantik Marine is taking the responsibility after getting green signal from the Bangladeshi authority. However, departmental official think that the cost of shipment through the route would be lessen more if an agreement was signed between the two countries.
The Bangladesh flag vessel, registered in Chittagong, was commissioned in January last by the Desh Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. It is a general cargo ship having the capacity of carrying 128 TEUs of containers.
It is being operated by Fast Stream Logistics Ltd, a concern of the Prantik Group.
If the service proves viable, other local operators would also join in it, said, engineer Golam Sarwar, managing director of Prantik Group.
“Currently, a lion share of the containerised cargos is transported to Chittagong via Singapore, Colombo and Malaysian ports, which takes a long time and involves much higher costs. The direct container ship service will lessen both time and cost,” he said.
According to shipping business insiders, a trip from Kolkata to Chittagong port via Colombo takes at least 10 days while the fare stands at $500 dollars. The direct transportation between Chittagong and Kolkata will take only two days and the expenditure will also come down drastically.
