For the first time in the history of maritime trade of the country, shipping of containers between Europe and Chattogram has started. It used to take 26 to 27 days for goods to reach Europe from Chattogram. Now products will reach Europe in 16 days from Chattogram. That means 10 to 11 days won’t be wasted. About one thousand TEU empty containers sent from Europe have already been unloaded at Chittagong port. The work of loading the products of the ready-made garments industry onto these containers headed towards Europe has started. The Chattogram-Italy route will be fully operational by the end of next month.
Cargo ships from Chattogram pass through the ports of Singapore, Colombo, Port Klang, and Tanjung in Malaysia. Containers loaded with imported goods arrive at these transshipment ports and are loaded on feeder ships and brought to Chattogram port. Similarly, the exported goods are sent to the transshipment port by container feeder ship. Then they are sent to the buyers’ countries by big ships. This is making import-export activities very time-consuming. If for some reason the feeder vessel did not move in time, it would not be possible to lift the goods on the big ship.
In the current situation, foreign buyers of the garments industry have taken the initiative to start shipping between Europe and Chattogram to reduce the risk and ensure a smooth flow of goods. As part of this, the Chattogram-Italy route has been launched. Freight forwarder RIF Line and its affiliate Calypso Companya de Navigation have launched shipping on the Chattogram-Italy route. Containers will run directly from the Chittagong port to the Italian seaport Civitavecchia. If necessary, ships carrying goods from Chittagong port will also operate in other ports of Europe. Initially, the route is being launched with two container ships.
Syed Nazrul Islam, first vice-president of BGMEA, said that 60% of exports go to European countries. Now it will be possible to deliver goods to foreign buyers in Europe in less time. Buyers want to buy products quickly. If this initiative is successful, our ready-made garments sector will get a lot of benefits in the global competition.
