Ctg port braces for Cyclone Mocha

All 20 vessels that had anchored at the jetties of the Chattogram port were shifted to the outer anchorage by the morning yesterday as a precautionary measure to keep the jetties secure as Cyclone Mocha approached.   

Loading and unloading at the jetties and unloading of goods into lighter vessels from 60 vessels at the outer anchorage have also been suspended.

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), said no new schedule would be given to release imported products, while outbound goods would not enter the port after 5pm.

"All activities will remain suspended until further instructions from the meteorological department."

About 2,000 containers were delivered from the port till 4:00pm yesterday, official figures showed.

All canals of the Karnaphuli river have been cleared by shifting lighter vessels to the upstream of the Shah Amanat Bridge, Faruk said.

All of the CPA's tug boats, patrol boats and rescue ships have been taken to safe shelters while gantry cranes, shore cranes and other equipment have been secured, he added.

The port authority has issued its own Alert No. 4, the second highest as per its Cyclone Disaster Preparedness and Post-Cyclone Rehabilitation Plan.

The meteorological department has issued the "Great Danger Signal No. 8" for the maritime ports, officials said.