Before the first ship carrying export goods from Chittagong port went directly to the European country Italy, the Ambassador of the European Union and Italy inspected the shipping activities. At the time, EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley cited this as an example of Bangladesh’s growing bilateral trade with EU countries. Business heads including Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of Port Authority, and Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA were present during the visit to Chittagong port on Sunday (6 February) at noon.
The Liberian-flagged ship ‘MV Songa Cheetah’ landed at the jetty on Saturday for the first time directly from Chittagong port to transport goods to a European country. The ship will leave for Italy on Monday with a container full of goods. And through this, direct shipping of Bangladesh with any port of Europe is starting for the first time.
At present, one of the largest destinations for readymade garments of Bangladesh is other European countries, and it is exported through ports of other countries. There is a wait there to get the booking of big ships. For that reason, it takes about 30 days to reach Italy. This delays the delivery of goods to the buyers and increases the cost. This is also a big reason for falling behind competitors. Traders are seeing the possibility of increasing the export of Bangladesh by reducing this obstacle when the direct journey to Europe starts.
EU Ambassador Charles Whitley, Italian Ambassador Enrico Nunziata, and BGMEA President Faruque Hassan visited the MV Songa Cheetah anchored at the port’s new mooring container terminal.
After inspecting the goods transport activities, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said that for the first time, cargo ships will go directly to any European country from Chittagong port. Where it used to take 35 to 45 days, it will now take lesser time. This is a new milestone in the country’s export trade.
He added that the capacity of Chittagong port has increased a lot. Now the waiting time for foreign ships is not more than two days. The capacity of Chittagong port is now much better than the ports of many developed countries of the world. Attempts are being made to start direct shipping not only to Italy but also to other European destinations.
Charles Whitley, Ambassador of the European Union, said that readymade garments are an important export sector of Bangladesh, which connects Bangladesh and the EU. Direct shipping with Italy is starting. We have 27 other countries. Bangladesh’s trade with other countries will gradually increase. We are thrilled with the start of this activity.
Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of the port authority, said that the capacity of Chittagong port has increased a lot. Capacity has also increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reduced the average stay-time of the ship. Adding other initiatives, including Patenga Container Terminal, will further increase the capacity of the port.
Earlier in the morning, the Chairman of the port authority and the president of BGMEA exchanged views with the two Ambassadors in the conference room of Bandar Bhaban. Information on various initiatives and progress of Chittagong port was presented to the Ambassadors.
RIF Line, an Italian freight forwarder, and its subsidiary Kalypso Compagnia Di are launching the Chattogram-Italy direct shipping service in the interest of some buyers in Europe, including Italy. The ship’s Bangladeshi agent is Reliance Shipping and Logistics.
