Ctg-Thailand shipping service yet to start two years after signing MoU

May 31, 2023

Chattogram Bureau :

Traders in Chattogram were quite upbeat when Bangladesh and Thailand signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) in December 2021 to launch direct shipping
services between Chattogram Port
and Ranong port of Thailand.

It would save time and cost, they thought. Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Omar Faruk told the media that the issue of direct shipping between the two ports is under the foreign affairs ministry for final decision.
Direct shipping through the Chattogram-Ranong route can be launched after the Ministry’s final nod, said sources at the Chattogram Port Authority.
The facility will reduce the transit time between the two ports from 10 days to three days, and cut shipping cost by around 30 per cent, said people involved in this sector.
According to the Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association, Bangladeshi goods are currently transported to Thailand through transshipment ports such as Singapore, Port Kelang in Malaysia and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

At present, the shipping cost from Chattogram to Ranong port is $700 per container.
Syed Mohammad Arif, Chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association, told The New Nation, “Launching direct shipping services between Chattogram and Ranong will create significant trade potential. Direct transportation of goods by ships has already been started with various European countries, which has reduced time and import cost. The same possibility exists for direct shipping between Bangladesh and Thailand.”
Shahikul Islam, Executive Director of Marine Trust Limited, which is involved in transporting goods to and from India under a coastal shipping agreement, said, “Launching direct shipping between Chattogram and Ranong ports will create a new market for shippers.”
According to sources at Chattogram port, Zafar Alam, then member of the Chattogram Port Authority, and Dr Chamnan Chairith, an official of the Port Authority of Thailand, signed the MoU on 20 December 2021.
At that time, Bangladesh and Thailand port officials said the agreement would help strengthen trade and investment between Bangladesh, Thailand, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka under BIMSTEC.