The port of Chittagong in Bangladesh has unveiled plans to begin accommodating larger vessels, doubling its capacity to lower transportation costs and enhance productivity.
The move is taken after London-based consultancy firm HR Wallingford conducted the required survey and informed the port authority that 200-meter vessels with 10.5-meter water depth can be accommodated in some jetties.
HR Wallingford said that with the draft and length increases container vessels with approximately 3,000 TEU capacity will be able to take berth at the jetties. The company added that some jetties will be able to accommodate 9.5-meter draft vessels.
Since 2015, vessels of 190-meter long and 9.5-meter water depth with 1,600 TEU to 1,700 TEU capacity had been taking berth at the port jetties.
Amid repeated calls from the port users for accommodating larger vessels to cut their transportation costs, the Chittagong Port Authority appointed HR Wallingford in November 2020 to study the port’s navigation.
The consultants have conducted a detailed hydrological and hydraulic study of the Karnaphuli River, to provide a potential solution to improve access to the port, particularly around the ‘Gupta Bend’. The river bend is a well-known constriction in the river, which limits the size of the vessel that can enter the port.
“If the port allows 10-meter draft and 200-meter long vessels, increased volume of container/cargo can be carried from transshipment port to the Chittagong port lowering transportation costs,” noted Mohammed Abdullah Jahir, chief operating officer at Saif Maritime Ltd.