A ship carrying Bangladeshi exports has left Chittagong port for Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, marking the debut journey on the route.
The container ship HONG AN, the first under a service launched by the France-based shipping company CMA-CGM, left for its first transhipment port in Sri Lanka’s Colombo on 7 May.
After reaching Colombo port on 11 May and unloading some cargo, the ship will then proceed to Jebel Ali port via Mundra port in India.
As a result of the new service, export of goods from Chattogram to Dubai will take only 15 days. On the return journey, traders will be able to bring goods to Chittagong port in 10 days, significantly reducing transport time.
Mostly vegetables and fish products are exported to the Middle East, while raw materials for the garment sector are imported from the region, traders said.
It used to take 30-35 days to ship goods from Jebel Ali port to Chattogram port via transhipment ports in Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. And if the transhipment port was jammed, it took more time, they said.
The new service will save them 10-15 days and will reduce suffering, they added.
The CMA CGM Group named the shipping service ‘Bangladesh India Gulf Express (BIGEX)’.
Direct routes from Chattogram to ports in Italy, England, Rotterdam, Denmark and Portugal have been launched recently, greatly benefiting exporters and importers.
Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruq said that talks are going on about starting direct transportation of goods to some other countries. He said if a shipping company wants to transport goods directly, the port authority will provide the necessary assistance.
