The Ministry of Shipping in Bangladesh has adopted a new regulation that would limit the movement of commodities on lighter vessels between Chattogram port and other interior ports.
The Bangladesh Water Transport Co-ordination Cell (BWTCC), a recently established regulator, will now be in charge of controlling the lighter vessels’ serial numbers in accordance with the new regulations.
However, this will not apply to lighter ships that are owned by industrial companies. In the past, the Water Transport Cell (WTC) was in charge of the lighter ships that transported cargo from Chattogram to other inland ports. However, the leadership of the Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners’ Association, one of the cell’s member associations, filed a lawsuit alleging irregularities, and the High Court later deemed the WTC’s operations unconstitutional.
Later, three associations of lighter shipowners came together to form the Bangladesh Water Transport Co-ordination Cell (BWTCC) as a result of the Department of Shipping’s participation.
According to the new “Goods Transport Policy at Bangladesh Seaport 2024” policy, the Bangladesh Water Transport Co-ordination Cell (BWTCC) will coordinate the distribution of lighter vessels with all parties involved, including importer-exporters, commodity agents, lighter shipowners, and local agents.
A 10-member supervisory committee has been established to oversee the BWTCC’s operations in light of the new policy. The director general of the Shipping Department or a representative will serve as the committee’s chair. The department’s ship surveyor and head engineer will serve as member secretaries.
Members will also include the principal officer of the Mercantile Marine Office, as well as representatives from the respective sea and river ports, Custom House, the Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners Association, the Coastal Shipowners Association of Bangladesh, the Inland Vessel Owners Association, and the Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association.
The committee will be in charge of managing and allocating lighter ships. Three associations—the Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners Association, the Coastal Shipowners Association of Bangladesh, and the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong—formed the Water Transport Cell (WTC) in 2003 in order to govern lighter vessels.
Following accusations of anomalies and arbitrariness, the Chittagong Inland Vessel Owners Association severed its connections with the cell in December of last year. But after a recent conference between government representatives and the shipowners’ groups in Chattogram, the new cell—the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell—was established with the goal of resolving the conflict over the transportation of lighter ships from Chittagong port.
