Chittagong clogs up, US$100/TEU congestion surcharge levied

GENERAL labour inefficiency and the shortage of containers have combined to create serious congestion at Bagladesh's major port of Chittagong as carriers begin to exact congestion surcharges of US$100 per laden TEU and $50 for empties.

"The situation started to deteriorate with the port authority taking over the function of appointing port operators a few months back," a carrier who chose to remain anonymous told London's Containerisation International.

"The equipment shortage at the container berths is one of the main reasons. The work force is also inefficient," he said.

"The position is terrible now; every ship with a parcel size of 1,000 TEU [imports/exports] or so has to spend at least five days at the port. Previously, they took just two days for similar operations," he said.

While most carriers impose surcharges, Marseilles-based CMA CGM is not, and instead awaits response from the port authorities on a request for priority berthing.
(Source:www.schednet.com)