Editorial
Sunken vessel at Chittagong port
Mechanism needed to deal with future crises
THE capsize of a clinker-laden vessel in the estuary of the river Karnaphuli on Tuesday has brought all shipping movements at Chittagong port to a virtual halt. The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that all medium and large vessels are now unable either to leave or enter the port. That not only means a stop to all maritime activities but also promises to leave a bad impact on the port economy. For the ships stranded at the port, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) will lose $10,000 every day. And if the port is not cleared soon, a huge logjam will be created with the arrival of more ships from various parts of the globe. The clearance, of course, involves salvaging the sunken ship with a sense of immediacy in order for the port to get back to working order. The question, though, is whether the CPA is equipped to do the job.
The answer is simple. Given that problems such as those caused by sinking ships can and do happen, and not just everywhere, it is expected that the port authorities will have enough skilled manpower and equipment to deal with the situation that has now arisen. We will expect that the logjam now in place will be removed at the earliest. Beyond the immediate difficulty, however, there are quite a few realities that the CPA must take into cognisance. In the first place and for the future, a foolproof mechanism must be ensured for the removal of impediments to movement of vessels from and into the port. In the modern world, time cannot be unduly lost in exploring the ways in which estuaries can be kept free of hindrances. In the second place, the time has now arrived for the authorities to probe the draught level of the port. There are good reasons to think that draught is now a problem and unless measures are taken to dredge estuaries, new difficulties could come up in future.
In other words, Bangladesh's ports, like everything else, need to be modernised. Such modernisation must cover not only a quick loading and unloading of vessels but also getting them out of trouble if and when that happens. With 43 vessels now waiting at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port, need one say more?
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